Things I would tell my younger self

 Whenever I'm asked the question "If you could change anything in your past, what would it be?" I usually say nothing. The outcome of my life and who I am would be completely different to the way they are now, even if just one little thing were to change.

I could always pick a painful memory to remove from my history, but those lessons and painful experiences in my past have made me the person I am, even though I can't always see the reason why they happened, they changed me.

When I was tagged to do this blog post, I started thinking that maybe, If i could go back in time and change something. I would simply hand my younger self a letter of advice instead of trying to stop a particular incident from happening.

So, here is my letter of advice/tips to my younger self:

1. It's ok to feel.

In your diary you wrote " If I allowed myself to feel, everything that has happened will catch up with me and i'll drown in a sea of grief and pain".  How can you learn to swim if you're not in the water?  Don't be the grinch, stop denying your emotions, feel them! The longer you deny your emotions the harder it will be to deal with later. It's ok to cry, sometimes that's the best way to heal.  Even someone who seems like the strongest person emotionally, still has moments where they completely break down from grief. It's how you pick yourself up afterwards that matters. Always get back up again. 

2. Some things are just out of your control:

Don't dwell on the things that have happened if you can't fix it or change them, just stop. You'll save yourself a lot of anxiety, stress and sadness. Accept that they happened and focus on how you can improve yourself. Mistakes are part of life, and everyone makes them, they're how you learn.

3. Say what you're thinking, go on, do it!

Stop thinking about how you will be perceived and what people will think of you. Speak your mind, stand up for yourself and the things you believe in. Confront the people that have done you wrong, accept no shit! Don't be so easily defined.

4. Talk to someone, ask for help. 

Stubborn as rock, you never ask for help or tell anyone what your going through. Honestly, how much heart-ache can you have save yourself if you just tell someone. You're too afraid of getting judged or accused of being a lying attention seeker. Even though not everyone will believe you, someone will. Best to share these things, you could save yourself a lot of pain and anxiety down the track.

5. Someones inability to see your worth, does NOT mean you are worthless.

You're all you have, don't give up on yourself so easily. Life is hard, but there are so many beautiful moments that are worth staying alive for.  Just because some people can't see how worthy you are or treat you as you should be treated. That is not a reflection on who you are, it is a reflection on who they are. Ugly hearts do ugly things.

6. Ditch the toxic relationships

You know when you are compromising your morals and doing things you promised yourself would never do. If they were your real friends, they wouldn't ask you to compromise who you are. Even if you can't see now how toxic these relationships are, look at the person you have become, are you proud?

7. You can't have everything perfectly planned out and thats ok. 

You don't know who you are or what you want to be and that's ok. You don't need to, you have plenty of time to figure that out. Just follow something you love doing and if that doesn't work out, follow something else.  You are capable of doing anything you want if you set your mind to it. There is no blue-print to how you live your life. Not everything will always be perfect or go to plan.  It's also ok to do some things simply because you love and enjoy them.

8.Don't wish away your childhood and youth wishing you were older
Be a kid! Stop trying to grow up and act mature, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

9. Dont believe everything you think.
Your mind can be your own worst enemy. Don't believe every thought that comes into your head, the majority of them are complete lies.

10. Live your life, have fun, enjoy the small moments.

Stop worrying about how you'll look to the people around you.  You only have one life, don't live it fearing what other people will think of you. Have fun! Live a little. You will be filled with more regret from the things you didn't do, than the things you did.  Sometimes it's perfectly fine to look like a complete idiot when you're having fun.

There are so many more things I would tell my younger self if it were possible.  I read a quote on Tumblr the other day that said "Be the person you needed when you were younger"  that really spoke to me.  Even though it's not possible for us to go back in time and talk to our younger selves,  we can still try to help and be there for the younger generations.

Infinite x's and o's

Elena

My month in photos

I haven't done a "my week in photos" post in quiet a while because I honestly haven't had the time to take a lot of photos, either that or my week was really boring and I figured no one really wanted to see photos of what I ate for dinner every day! So, to make things a little more interesting I decided to do a "my month in photos" from a combination of my posts on instagram and other modes of photography (is that the right expression) Here we go!:

For a few days the moon was full and absolutely stunning.

I got a little Arty...

Decided to wear my motorbike jacket out (the fact that I don't have a motorbike yet is irrelevant) 

Things got a little weird when I decided to comic-book myself with makeup one night. Which was the result of boredom, procrastination and running on energy drinks.

Finishing an 18 page assignment with very little sleep, Ps: don't try this at home kids.

Gorgeous sunset, (ps: no I wasn't driving, you can calm) 

Something about these jellybeans brings back a flood of childhood memories. I still remember the day my doctor didn't offer my a jellybean after I'd gone to see him, it was a very sad day, my childhood was over.

I got a little too excited and over-estimated how many brownies I actually needed to make one day, but honestly, can one have too many brownies? I think not!

Found a weirdo in my mirror

For whatever reason, my best friend Lisa and I couldn't breathe laughing at her impression of a hillbilly playing a guitar while we were waiting in my car, which resulted in foggy windows and drawing. We had a little too much sugar that night.... 

The same night we went to watch Lucy (very odd movie) and the cinema was empty! (we had fun ;) )



Pizza night! 

After the sad death of Robin Williams, my friends and I decided to watch Aladdin as a tribute. (the beginning of any disney movie always makes me a little nostalgic) 

Sunday drinks with a friend! Not just Smirnoff...

Got a little arty once again.. With new watercolour pencils.

So there it is, my month in photos!

Hope you're having a great week and month so far,

Infinite x's and o's,

Elena 

DIY Tropical Sugar Cookie Scrub

You know those expensive exfoliaters/ sugar scrubs you see in-store and at spas that are only a tiny little jar? 

Well they cost literally a quarter of the price to make yourself! Plus they look great as a gift and you know exactly what you're putting into it! You can experiment with flavours and colours. It also only takes 3 ingredients to make!

Sugar scrubs can be used on your face, lips (great for using before you put on lipstick) body (like before you apply a fake tan to remove dead skin) and feet.

So here's what you need:

Ingredients:
-2 cups of raw sugar
-1 cup of coconut oil
-1 tsp of butterscotch essence (or any essence you like)
Just make sure it's safe to put on your skin.

Then you will just need a bowl to mix, spoon, measuring cup, a saleable jar (I got mine at Ikea for about $3) and then some ribbon for decoration (opt).

Method:
Combine 2 cups of sugar with 1 cup of coconut oil. If the coconut oil has solidified then you may need to heat it up for a little bit until it has become liquid. Then add a teaspoon of essence, stir it in and that's it! You're done. Scoop it into the jar, decorate with a ribbon and enjoy your smooth skin.
These last (on the counter at room temp)  for at least 2 months and it smells soooo good!

I made a video on how to make this sugar scrub, which I will link below:

So, Have you tried making your own sugar or facial scrub? What's your favourite flavour combination?

Infinite x's and o's

Elena ♥ 

Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

Wow, someone thinks I'm inspiring.... AW stawpit!
I was nominated for this award by Grace and Coolallure
It's so nice to hear that my blog posts have had an impact on someone and to even be considered for an award like this. So, thank you, truly.

So, Here's how this award works.

1. Thank and Link the person/s who nominated you
2. List the rules and display the award

3. Share 7 facts about yourself
4. Nominate 5 other blogs and comment on their blogs to let them know you have nominated them. Also provide a link to your post.

Seven things about myself:

(this literally took me an hour to think of, I wish I was kidding)

1. I am slightly addicted to tumblr.... and of course by slightly I mean utterly. There's something about re-blogging pretty pictures and quotes that is quite therapeutic. 

2. I'm currently taking a gap year in-between studies to find out who I want to be and what I want to do. I'm hoping to travel a little bit this year too. 

3. My favourite colour is tiffany blue (In my head I heard that guy from project runway say "shutup, it's freakin blue.")

4. I once tried to ride a skateboard. Never again. 

5. In 2012 I lost 35 kilos

6. I have brown eyes but depending on the light they show flecks of blue and gold. 

7. I love the movie Frozen, Olaf is hilarious! 

The blogs I nominate are:

1.loudoesbeauty.blogspot.co.uk

2. michelleolthuis.blogspot.com

3. simplecapacity.com

4. cassiefairy.com

5. thecolecollection.com


Infinite x's and o's,

Elena

I adopted a kitten!

I thought I would make a post dedicated to my newly adopted Kitten, Aslan!  Although he's growing out of his kitten faze now considering he's already 6 months old.
After saying a sad goodbye to our eldest cat Hidy last year, my family and I decided we were ready to welcome a new member.

I knew that I wanted to adopt a kitten from our local shelter instead of buying from a breeder, just because it would feel like a good deed in a way, giving an animal a second chance at life and a new home.

We looked at every kitten there, they were all going crazily wild, playing with toys and hanging off walls (quite literally), except for this little guy. He was curled up by himself wrapped around his big fluffy tail.
I went to pat him and he walked straight up to me, looked me in the eyes and nose bumped me with his cold little pink nose. It was the cutest thing out. I fell for him instantly, maybe that was his master plan.

("Paint me like one of your french girls")

On the car ride home, he continued to nose bump me. It was almost like he had to make sure we all knew of his presence and didn't forget about him. At first I thought it may be because he's short-sited and has to get up close to faces to  be able to see them, but he sees perfectly fine, just one of his cute personality traits.

I decided to call him Aslan because growing up, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis were my favourite books and Aslan was my favourite character. Also because he has the same colouring and bravery.
He walks straight up to our dogs with no fear, he's not afraid of the vacuum cleaner (which frightens our big Staffy, sarcastically named "Butch") and he likes eating grapes and cheese. 

Every afternoon Aslan takes his little toy horse (which he adopted as his from nephews toy box) and sits on the back veranda to watch the tide coming in.  He also has a collection of leaves he brings in from outside and places them in a little pile near the sliding door, along with a few blue flowers from our Jacaranda tree. 

(The car ride home, I had to put him back in his carrier for safety reasons but also because he kept trying to kiss the driver.)

While you're on the computer he either will place his head on your arm or snuggle onto your lap. He still does this except he's now a tad bigger and if you would like to move your mouse, see the screen or type, good luck.

I'm not really sure what breed he is. On his paperwork all it states is that he's "mixed etc" so, he could be a mixture of anything. I think he may be part ragdoll, just by the way he acts and his fluffy tail.
He has so much character and is such a blessing to have, he adds a lot of comedy into my life.

Hope you're all having an excellent weekend!
Infinite x's and o's

Elena