A little inspiration for those learning to love your inner & outer self. ♥

Hey there, beautiful! I was enjoying having the house to myself- *ahem* karaoke time *cough* – and I came across the song “Try” by Colbie Caillat. It gave me absolute goosebumps, or as my poetry professor says, “chillbumps”. Suddenly I felt  a yearning inside- damn, I wish that songs like this had been around when I was a preteen, and I hope that my two nieces grow up to love themselves. I try my best to raise them as strong and confident girls but as an aunt who isn’t with them 24/7, I can only do so much. On the bright side, I can always work on raising myself. I’m still in the process. Maybe I always will be, but I’m kind of okay with that. As long as you’re learning, a day is never wasted.

And what better way to show myself love than to indulge in some inspiration and share with my Interweb fellows? Here are some passionate and incredibly positive videos for y’all on this Sunday morning:

♥ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZLPSw8U8

♥ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnDgSsWnwwE

♥ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODnMaf0rB4c

I’m also going to challenge you to do something~ Take out a piece of paper and your favorite writing utensil. Write down 5 things about your physical appearance that you love, and ten things about your inner self that you love. I know you can do it.

Much love and tons of good vibes,
Violet XO

Some things to brighten your day or teach you something new!

Hello, all! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it- I hope your holiday is filled to the brim with joy and good memories. Today I wanted to share some of the cool things on the Interwebs I’ve found recently. I hope you enjoy this list- I even included a few of my favorite things this Spring.

✿ http://galadarling.com/article/feeling-burned-out-ask-yourself-this-one-simple-question/

✿ http://mysticmedusa.com/2013/05/fenging-up/

✿ http://dangerdame.com/2015/03/30/how-to-be-magnetic-4-ways-to-rev-up-your-magnetism/

✿ http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18169/how-to-stay-motivated-when-youre-not-in-the-mood-to-do-anything.html

✿ http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18030/are-you-sabotaging-your-authentic-self-heres-how-to-stop.html

✿ http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17999/walking-boosts-brainpower-4-other-reasons-to-exercise-every-day.html

✿ http://everydayroots.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bad-breath

✿ Pretty much any Dog Whisperer or My Cat From Hell episode, ever.

✿ http://www.seventeen.com/health/a29642/ways-to-be-instantly-happier/

✿ http://www.seventeen.com/health/advice/a21913/boost-body-confidence/

✿ Light or Pastel colors.

✿ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnT7ZDubj94

✿ Raising some gorgeous indoor plants.

That’s it babes- I hope you enjoyed the links and learned something interesting.

Much love from my house to yours,

Violet XO

A reminder for ~YOU~!

Hey there, darlings. This message is made special just for you- all of you. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, or some sort of comfort from the Universe, this is it. You are unbreakable. You may bend underneath the pressures of life, but you will never be broken. Your scars are proof that you can overcome anything. You have immeasurable strength, courage, bravery, and beauty. Beautiful isn’t the most important thing for a human to be, but know that you are gorgeous- a stunner inside and out- and it is totally okay to feel that way about yourself. It’s okay to feel beautiful, and it is not selfish or vain to do so.

You deserve to love yourself. How can you help others if you’re not well yourself? “Once we acknowledge and accept the good in us we can spread the good in the world” (if someone knows who first said this quote, please let me know in the comments below). Once you light a spark of love and compassion in your own heart, it will be much stronger and brighter; it will truly help you spread that love to others.

Treat yourself kindly, whether you’re celebrating a raise or feeling disappointed in yourself over a recent failure. You deserve your love and care 100% of the time. If you had a child, would you only love them when they behaved their very best? No, even though they may be difficult or challenging for us, we still love and care for them. Why is it so easy for us to love other people, in all their imperfect glory, but so hard for us to do ourselves the same favor?

Love yourself. Love others. Give yourself a break and rest when you know you need to. If you just took a few steps back, reflect on what went wrong and see what you can learn from it. Let it catapult you towards your dreams and desires. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” (Confucius). Celebrate all your victories, no matter how small. Take a couple risks and learn to listen to yourself, so you can better listen to others. Go after what you really want.

Your strength is unfathomable, your courage untouchable, and your beauty undeniable.

I hope this small letter gives you a little more hope and peace to hold on to. I hope you accomplish every single one of your dreams.

Wishing you the best & lots of love,

Violet XO

Best Of 2014: Full of Positivity, Body Love, & Inspiration! (PART THREE, BOOKS & MUSIC)

Good morning, beautiful! The Best of 2014 series has drawn to an end- today’s shall be my last post dedicated to 2014. After all, we’re two days into the new year! It’s time to get in the groove of 2015. For more information regarding this series, you can check out my two most recent posts. Without further adieu, here are my favorite self-help books and inspiring songs of 2014…

✦ BOOKS ✦

✦ “Beautiful You: A daily guide to radical self-acceptance” By Rosie Molinary

✦ “The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life” By Thomas Moore

✦ “The Goddess Is In The Details: Wisdom For The Everyday Witch” By Deborah Blake

✦ “The Miracle of Self-Love: The Secret Key To Open All Doors” By Barbel Mohr

✧ MUSIC ✧

✧ “Miss Movin’ On”~ Fifth Harmony

✧ “BO$$”~ Fifth Harmony

✧ “Anklebiters”~ Paramore

✧ “Feeling Sorry”~ Paramore

✧ “Wings”~ Little Mix

✧ “All About That Bass”~ Meghan Trainor

✧ “Close Your Eyes”~ Meghan Trainor

✧ “Shake It Off”~ Taylor Swift

✧ “Last Hope”~ Paramore

✧ “All About That Bass” Cover (Not About Your Waist)~ Natty Valencia

✧ “Salute”~ Little Mix

✧ “Dear Future Husband”~ Meghan Trainor

✧ “Skyscraper”~ Demi Lovato

✧ “Warrior”~ Demi Lovato

✧ “Hello Cold World”~ Paramore

I hope you guys enjoyed this short series and some of the things I’ve shared with y’all! Did your favorite book or song make my list? What would you add?

Tomorrow I embrace 2015 and let 2014 rest. Much love,

Violet XXOO

Best Of 2014: Full of Positivity, Body Love, & Inspiration! (PART TWO, ONLINE POSTS/PAGES)

Happy New Year, darlings! I’m wishing all of you joyous moments and loving memories for this new year. Today I’m continuing the Best of 2014 series and the final post for this shall be up sometime tomorrow. For more information regarding the series, check out my previous post. I’m sharing many links so I’ll make the intro short and get right into it! (;

~ONLINE POSTS & PAGES~

☯ Gala Darling ( http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-make-2014-the-best-year-of-your-life/ )

☯ More Gala ( http://galadarling.com/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-making-your-period-suck-less/ )

☯ Bubz ( http://www.bubzbeauty.com/diary/312-taking-a-break.html )

☯ Miss Varlow ( http://dangerdame.com/2014/12/08/5-ways-to-punch-seasonal-depression-in-the-face/ )

☯ What do you want? ( http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16446/want-to-find-out-what-you-really-want-ask-these-essential-questions.html )

☯ Thrive ( http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16661/10-ways-to-truly-thrive.html )

☯ Stop Judging Your Body ( http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14033/10-ways-to-stop-judging-your-body-so-harshly.html )

☯ Kindness ( http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16700/how-to-approach-the-world-with-more-kindness.html )

☯ Gabby Bernstein ( http://gabbyb.tv/blogs/1-key-success )

☯ Michelle Phan ( http://michellephan.com/how-to-strengthen-your-relationships/ )

☯ More Mish ( http://michellephan.com/10-best-inspirational-quotes-to-live-by/ )

☯ A goldmine of Louise Hay affirmations! ( http://www.louisehay.com/affirmations/ )

☯ Justine Musk ( http://justinemusk.com/2014/11/17/heroines-journey-soul-happiness/ )

☯ Musk Again ( http://justinemusk.com/2014/10/19/heroines-journey/ )

☯ Make Your Own Desire Map ( http://www.daniellelaporte.com/thedesiremap/graphic-maker )

☯ Loving Light ( http://galadarling.com/article/50-ways-to-put-the-light-back-in-your-heart/ )

☯ Happy & Healthy ( http://galadarling.com/article/new-year-new-routine-10-things-i-do-to-keep-myself-feeling-happy-healthy-magical/ )

☯ RSL! ( http://galadarling.com/article/100-ways-you-can-start-loving-yourself-right-now/ )

☯ More RSL ( http://galadarling.com/article/10-really-easy-ways-you-can-love-yourself-more-today/ )

☯ Be a Love Letter ( http://galadarling.com/article/100-ways-to-be-a-love-letter-to-the-universe/ )

What were your favorite posts/website pages of 2014? Did you like any of the links I’ve provided? Let me know in the comments!

Best Of 2014: Full of Positivity, Body Love, & Inspiration! (PART ONE, VIDEOS)

Hello, gorgeous! Can you believe 2014 is coming to an end? Once again, it’s time to process what has happened these past 12 months and gain closure so we can turn a new leaf. As a part of that process, I want to share my favorite bits and pieces of positivity, body love, inspiration, etc. that I found in 2014. Note: These were not necessarily created in 2014, though some might have been; these are just things I discovered this year. Here goes!

☮ Videos ☮

Loey Lane on Body Confidence ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vddxqZFfx2I )

Cherry Wallis ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGRLIopE6tI )

Sprinkle Of Glitter ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa5aaA-zvxY )

Body Confidence ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz1MaNwXRV8 )

Helen & Scarlet ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNfAF7IokS8 )

Getting Naked ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF4G_R8ybVo )

No for Body Shaming! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrydyXpfzQ )

Motivation & Happiness ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btonxkBa2BU )

Loving Small Boobs ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfZTYymSh_A )

Happy Secrets ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdGNWyq8nsQ )

Dealing With Negativity ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIKBe48H7NE )

Confidence ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d95feTAuQ4I )

Bethany Mota ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8paIwm0nRYc )

Making Magic ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOWjOvZYENM )

Radical Self Love ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFXHYtY9ag8 )

Lizzie Velasquez ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62Aqdlzvqk )

Lizzie again ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKuvgxFgG4w )

I wanted to list even more but I didn’t want to overwhelm you guys. (: What are your favorite positive/love-filled videos from this year? Add yours to the list in the comments section!

Wishing you all a cozy day in and happy moments. XXOO

Positive & Easy Visualization!

Good morning, you stunning mega-babes. It’s finally the weekend (and one after a stressful holiday at that). I hope it treats you kindly and you get to do what you want.

I’ve become a frequent XOJaner because occasionally they have magnificent, beautifully written, and thought provoking posts. And while most of the time the comments sections are a shitshow, I’ve noticed that the XOJane community can also be a loving and compassionate place of support and kindness. People use it as an outlet to express troublesome feelings or talk about their problems, and a lot of the time the responses are positive and caring.

As I pondered what to check out on the Interwebs today, I visited the most recent open thread. One of Jane’s questions was “what’s at the top of your Best Of 2015 List?” and explained a visualization technique that involved jotting down ten things you want in 2015 and write them down as if they have happened. Personally, I think this idea is GENIUS, so I wanted to share it with you lovely people. Bonus points if you meditate on it once a day. 😉

Here is my Best Of 2015 List:

☼ I was published again.

☼ I won a writing contest.

☼ I tried tons of new, positive activities and healthy foods.

☼ I volunteered to help animals and various other causes.

☼ I pet, like, ALL the animals.

☼ I made straight A’s in both semesters.

☼ I dyed my hair purple again and looked like a fabulous mermaid.

☼ My skincare was steady so my skin cleared up completely.

☼ I increased my confidence and self-esteem

☼ I gained 10 more followers to my blog and people commented on some of my posts.

That was surprisingly easy to write! Tip: Don’t let negativity try to put a damper on your dreams for 2015. You might have a small voice saying “I can’t do that well” or “This is unbelievable and impossible to achieve”; tell that voice to suck it and keep on dreaming big. What are your Best Of 2015 moments? Share ’em below!

Developing & Maintaining Healthy Habits!

Hey y’all! I hope the winter is treating you guys well. Where I live it’s finally getting chilly and I’m excited to break the peppermint tea out. Who am I kidding, I already broke that out a looong time ago.

Anyhoo, one of my goals for the rest of December (at least) is to develop and maintain as many healthy habits and behaviors as possible. The school “year” enabled me to give various excuses for taking shortcuts when it came to health; i.e. “I’m just sooo tired”, “I’m too stressed to do that”, “I totally don’t have time or energy for that”. While I was kept pretty busy, 85% of the time I was simply slacking off- which isn’t cool because I should treat my body right! Our bodies are our temples, as people say. We should practice good health and well being as our religion, and celebrate and show gratitude for the wondrous activities our bodies let us do.

So, now that I have zero excuses to try and shift my focus from health, I’m challenging myself to research on the healthiest things people can do for themselves. I’ll be adding to my (hopefully massive) list of healthy To Do’s as the days go by, but here is the prototype so far:

❀ Drink tea once a day

❀ Listen to feel-good music

❀ Devote an hour to expressing emotions in a creative way (ex: painting, mandalas, sketching, writing, etc.)

❀ Sing (if the day permits)

❀ Brush my teeth twice a day AND floss

❀ Spend a min. of 20 minutes outside every day

❀ Set aside 5-10 minutes of meditation

❀ Break a sweat (i.e. cardio, running, yoga, etc.)

❀ Drink 8 glasses of water a day

❀ Eat a healthy, balanced diet

❀ Stretch!

❀ Pray and remember what I am thankful for

❀ Take care of my poor, dry feet

❀ Moisturize (because having healthy skin is important to stay sickness-free)

❀Be kind to my face and NEVER sleep with makeup on

❀ Read for 30+ minutes

Phew, and that’s just the ones I could name off the top of my head! What about you- what are the things you do every day to keep up your good health? Can you add anything to my list? What is your favorite health routine?

Much love & hugs to you all.

Monthly Favorites of December

Hello there, lovelies of the internet! I hope y’all are having incredible weekends to match your incredible selves. I’v been rather productive and Violet-ish this month so I thought a small Favorites post would be a good way to get back in the swing of daily vlogging. With further adieu~

Scent: Peppermint or Sweet Mint, because it’s chilly out and why the heck not?

Book: I finally decided to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett after seeing the movie (which, by the way, was pretty dang great). I haven’t finished it yet but I like it so far and recommend it to anyone unsure of what to read next. Seems promising!

Music: *warning, some of these may be too catchy to escape* “Close Your Eyes”- Meghan Trainor. “Part Two”- Paramore. “Riptide”- Vance Joy. “All I Want For Christmas (cover)”- Fifth Harmony. & “Can You Feel My Heart”- Bring Me The Horizon.

Word: Lovelies/Lovely.

Color: Soft, light, and pastel colors!

Power Outfit: Comfy and colorful boots, light-washed skinny jeans, a bright sweater, my Trinity Knot ring, and the precious moon and stars necklace I recently got. (Most other power outfits to default to all black and grey, with skulls and creep aplenty).

Snack: Caesar-flavored pea snap crisps, apple slices with peanut butter, or fresh bread with olive oil and Parmesan.

Mantra: “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” – Buddha.

Articles/Blog Posts: http://www.xojane.com/relationships/how-to-love-yourself

http://justinemusk.com/2014/10/19/heroines-journey/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/all-cats-go-to-heaven#.fd8q75r4gq

http://www.buzzfeed.com/floperry/no-thank-you-horrible-deep-sea

& http://dangerdame.com/2014/12/11/3-unconventional-ways-to-rock-out-the-last-days-of-2014/

I hope the day is treating you right! What are your monthly favorites? Share them in the comments! Much love and loads of good vibes to ya.

Beauty isn’t skin deep, but sometimes it’s easiest to start there.

All of us are on our own journeys to self-love, self-acceptance, and true confidence. We are different in many ways and so our voyages will always be a little different. For some people, learning to love their entire selves is easiest done by starting with admiring our inner-selves. Some of us have a more challenging time loving our outsides, so we work from the inside out. But for others, it’s much easier to begin from the outside in. In my experience thus far, it is a tad bit easier to start with showing love to my outer-self and then working my way in. It’s not bad to do this.

There is no wrong way to love your whole self, ‘kay?

Here is a short guide for those who are on the second path. Enjoy; I hope it treats you well and helps you transition into a more confident, loving person. 🙂

Wear what you want to wear. Don’t listen to anyone who decrees what is flattering and what is not. You know what’s flattering to your body shape? Wear whatever clothes you fucking like. If you’re a bigger girl, don’t take people’s bullshit about not being able to rock horizontal stripes or that you should always wear black or belts or something. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re too short for flat shoes or too tall for high heels. There is no such thing. the first step in rocking your physique is to dress it in ways that make YOU comfortable, confident, and feeling like the hot babe you are. Wear what you fucking want and you will always look good.

Adorn yourself if you’d like. If you don’t like to accessorize, that’s fine and dandy. Whatever makes you feel pretty- whether that’s no jewelry, tattoos, piercings, and makeup or wearing all of the above- must be adorned. You feel great in a bold red lip and suicide rolls in your hair? Wear that shit. You feel best when bare-faced and wearing minimal jewelry? Rock it! Whatever your style is, embrace it and don’t ever let anyone (no matter how stylish they seem) tell you it doesn’t look enough/too much. You go ahead and do your thing, girlie. Rock that glittery nail polish or those hoop earrings. You look fantastic.

Leave the house knowing that you look like a billion bucks. Ain’t nobody got time to dissect their appearance and wonder if their style is okay for this world. Walk with an air of confidence: keep your head held high, gaze steady, and breathe easy knowing you look your best because you feel like you look your best. The only person whose opinions concerning your looks matter are YOU and your doctor. Ignore anyone else who tries to tell you what is healthy and unhealthy. Don’t let them convince you that you aren’t trendy enough or that you’re too trendy. Work it girl. You look totes-mah-goats fabulous.

Wishing you a marvelous day. ♥