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A catch all of anything and everything ever written on my blog. Cant find it here, then it doesn’t exist.

image of crinkled bed sheets header to title of blog post called slow by Nicole Eva highlighting the importance of slow mornings for self care and mental wellness

The Secret of Slow

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Slowing down has been a goal of mine this year.  I’ve been really into slow mornings. Waking up slow, taking the time to make tea, making a nutritious breakfast, showering, being fully present in my skin care routine and taking the time to sit and soak in the quiet before diving into the tasks of the day has been so rejuvinating for me.  Deciding whether or not I was willing to try trading my few extra moments of sleep for moments of calm as opposed to rushing around the house panicked about getting work on time and starting my day at a level 10 stress before 9am was pretty much a no brainer. Although I’ve loved it, it wasn’t the easiest of adjustements at first. There were some strategies I’ve had to figure out before I was able to make this into a successful routine of mine. Now that they’re in place I don’t struggle as much to reach that happy place of quiet in the mornings. The benefits are immeasurable and if you’re down, …

Spending Time Alone and Why it’s Important

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Alone time is good for the soul.  Whether you’re naturally introverted or naturally extroverted, setting aside sometime for you to sit and enjoy your own presence is a very important part of existence.  For some, alone time is a refreshing and natural part of our lives. For others, the idea of spending time alone intentionally is actually quite intimidating. If that’s you, no worries! Right below is a guide of some small ways to set up intentional alone time and simple things you can do with that time.  What is Intentional Alone Time? Taking time to be alone intentionally doesn’t always mean simply not hanging out with friends. Intentional alone time can be any time where you are taking time away from socialization on purpose. Maybe that’s you removing yourself from social media for a set amount of time, stepping away from the group chat for a little bit or turning off snapchat notifications for a while. The goal is to have uninterrupted time with you and yourself.  How to Set up Intentional Alone Time …

January Check Up | How are we doing?

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Hey friends! How areeee you? We are a few weeks into the new year and I’m doing a little check in because, well, we’ve already been through a bit. Some of you are waiting to hear whether or not you’ll be going back into lockdown, some of you already are. Some of you, well I should say us (because I live here too) are in the US and chewing a fingernail or two as we approach inauguration day and some of us are dealing with the day to day stresses of being a human being. Period. Whatever you are dealing with, I want to encourage you and let you know that you are not dealing with it alone. One thing I’ve learned this past year is that we RARELY struggle alone. We may isolate ourselves and feel as though we are alone, but in reality there is always someone out there who understands or can empathize with how you are feeling. I think that’s been the biggest blessing of choosing to be authentic with my …

clothes hanging in a wardrobe for post late 20s look book about fashion in your late 20s

Late 20’s Style Look Book

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It’s December. It’s cold outside and we’re quarantined so there’s kind of a lot of sitting around happening lately. I mean stuffs getting done, but I don’t exactly look cute while doing it. I was scrolling though my Pinterest fashion boards the other day and looked at my pinned clothing choices, then looked back at my current clothing choices. To be honest it made me laugh, ONLY because the difference was drastic. I can’t be the only woman with an ideal look, that looks…nothing like what they currently wear right? I mean, I’m not judging myself (although it may sound like it), currently i’m rocking a grey crewneck sweatshirt, thick grey mens sweat pants and sock slippers and ya girl is warm and happy. BUT, if money was not something I needed to be thinking about, and I actually had places to go, here are some of the things I would love to wear. We’ll call this my ideal late 20s look book. Around the house My around the house look would consist of comfy …

Continue.

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A letter to myself on the first day of the last month of the year:  As we know, this year has been something else. We’ve experienced, a lot. As I was reflecting on this year and my feelings about it, the following came about. It came about because I have frustrations, I have heartaches, I have doubts and they all come from the things experienced in this past year. So, I wrote this.   You may be tempted to dismiss the small things.  You may be tempted to dismiss the hard things.  You may be tempted to dismiss the set backs. Don’t. Don’t sit in your discouragement.  Don’t stop believing in your dreams.  It may seem like your time is racing past you, It may seem like you just can’t catch up. It may seem like your unrealized goals of this year were failures. Because you didn’t accomplish what you set out to, But they weren’t.  This year you learned, a lot. This year you continued to dream.  This year you learned to pay attention …

8 Air Bnb Locations I Would Visit Right Now

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Every once in a while, at least once a year, I get this itch to travel. This year when the itch showed up it was met with an intensity like never before. Probably due to the fact that we cannot currently travel at the moment. To scratch this itch (and sort of torture myself I guess) I decided to re-download my AirBnB app. If I couldn’t physically travel, I was going to dream of travel. Not only was I going to dream, but I was going to favorite these locations and make a plan to get to at least one of the locations on my list. Before I started searching I decided right off of the bat that I didn’t want to look at the typical vacation destinations. If these were going to be dreamworthy they needed to be something different, something exciting. Something of fictional romance novels. You know, the ones that you read while snuggled up in more blankets than you need, with a cup of tea and the tv on that Yule …

Loving Lately | My Top 5 Kitchen Must Haves for 2020

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Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links! Regardless of affiliation the products I am discussing are products that I use and love and would recommend either way Autumn is here! This means the end of the year is right around the corner and I think I share everyones sentiments when I say I am excited for the end of 2020. One of my favorite things about this season so far has been getting my home all decked out for the holidays. This is the first holiday season that I will actually be able to decorate a home that is mine and I am excited to turn the space into a totally aesthetic and cozy dwelling filled with vanilla pumpkin scented candles, christmas wreaths, and comfy blankets to watch all of the cheesy holiday things with. Speaking of home decor and all of those fun things, I’ve created a list of some of my current favorite things in my home. Most of these items have been gifted to us from friends and family as wedding gifts …

self care when you just don't care - self care for depression mental wellness

Self Care for When you Just Don’t Care

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There are times when life is rainbows and sunshine. Times when breathing is easy and laughter is plentiful But then there are times when sometimes getting out of bed and choosing to engage with the day feels like climbing the highest mountain and the simple act of faking a smile robs you of every bit of your energy. These days it’s just as important, if not more so important to care for yourself. Self-care has been illustrated as sitting in a tub filled to the brim with bubbles with lit candles, sipping wine, and reading a book before bed. I mean there’s nothing inherently wrong about indulging in self-care in this way. It will definitely leave you feeling pampered, but I believe that fixating on only that physical side of self-care inadvertently cheapens the goal of self-care. And on those days when it’s hard to even convince yourself to eat and take a shower…a bubble bath and candles just aren’t going to cut it. So. When you don’t feel like it, when you can’t be …

Perfectionism, Grace and Enjoying the Process

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I struggle with perfectionism in my marriage

Well, actually that’s a partial truth. I do struggle with perfectionism in my marriage, but not just there. I struggle with perfectionism everywhere, I always have. I thought, however, that I had overcome it. That I had finally reached contentment with being imperfect and had fully embraced my flaws in all of their glory. I thought that until…well until I got married.

How did I figure that one out? Lately, I’ve found myself frustrated. It took me a little while to figure out the source of my frustration but once I figured it out it made sense.

photo of a candle for blog post by Nicole Eva

In the Midst | Life Updates and Life Lessons

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I need a new journal. My old one is nowhere near filled to the brim like the ones before, but I feel like this new chapter in my life requires a completely new book to symbolize everything that has changed you know? There’s been a lot of change. Some really great and some I really wish hadn’t come about. Over the past 2 months I moved out of my home, moved into a new apartment, got married and am now in the process of adjusting to life as a wife alongside my new hubs. Crazy, right? We’ll sort through the details of all of that another time, but yes. Major changes and the good kind. Some other major changes, from the other side of the scale; my grandmother who lives in Barbados fell sick and passed away and right after my family dog of 16 years also fell sick and passed. Through all of these events, I’ve been learning some really important lessons. Lessons of how to be excited and happy about life while simultaneously …