Happy end of April, readers. Can you believe its already May, the fifth month of the year! I've already forgotten the resolutions I set in the beginning of the year- oh how time flies!

May means finals, graduation, and that the heat is coming on strongly. It means scooped out bread and one meal a day, scheduling appointments with your trainer  and getting ready for your best bathing suit bod. May means the beginning of summer travels, and when our minds officially check out of school work. It means tanning at that rooftop pool, high-waisted short-shorts, and the never ending margaritas. And of course, it means birthdays for my Taurus babies out there! What are we anticipating most for May? What do we want to make of this month? Are we ready? Let’s set our intentions for positivity; summer is when we get to be free flowing,  when our possibilities are endless. Of course we want a fleeting, summer love, who doesn't? So make it happen, let's get out there and bask in the summer sun. May is the best time of year – it’s that in between month when you are able to have the best of both worlds! When days are slightly longer and the weather teases you with heat one day, wind the next, and rain for three days after that.  Are you excited for graduation, nervous, or is it just a bittersweet feeling in general? Whatever you may be feeling, take it in, enjoy it while you have it.

It being Monday, let's make sure we've taken the moment to set the positive tone for our week, and think about our intensions. Yes, the work week has begun, but that's not all this week has to be about.

 Take the opportunity to remind yourself to focus on today. 

Let's make today peaceful so we can be as positively productive as we are capable of being. 

What do we live for if we don't live for each day? 

   
Some days, its okay if all you did was breathe.

When we focus on our inner peace, we give ourselves the strength to take control of our own lives. We want to be propelled forward; we want to take the necessary actions to take another step forward in our lives. Let the outside chaos not destroy the inner peace.

  We will wake up each day releasing ourselves of the heavyness we carry with us, we will let go of our subconscious fears, 

anxieties, and insecurities. We will relax our minds, and breathe through

 our worries, and learn about ourselves and our lives 

and flourish with each new day.

“Get out of your head and get into your heart. Think less, feel more.” ~Osho

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

HOROSCOPE OF THE DAY: 

FAVORITE MK LOOKS:

 

LEFT: BLU BIJOUX BLACK GIANT STONE RING 
RIGHT: MIZUKI EVIL EYE DIAMOND DROP EARRINGS 

FAVORITE RECIPE OF THE DAY: 
KALE QUINOA BOWL 

Guacamole

3 avocados

3 garlic cloves

1/2 med onion

1 jalapeno

1 lime

red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

Black Bean Corn Salad

3 corn ears

1 13.5 oz can black beans

1 small bunch kale 

1 1/2 limes

1 tbsp  coconut vinegar*

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp dijon

1/2 tsp agave

salt

pepper

Quinoa

1 C dry quinoa

2 C water or vegetable broth

1 lime

FAVORITE REASONS FOR COCONUT OIL 

Studies show that the health benefits of coconut oil are on the rise. Coconut oil is a saturated fat called lauric acid. It is known as the food cure-all, contributing to weight loss, helping with hair and skin, increasing immunity and so forth. There are many ways to use the oil-- cooking with it, using it in beauty products and even eating it alone to help reduce cholesterol, fight off viruses and yeasts and helping with aging. 

Some uses for Coconut Oil includes: 

1. To support healthy Thyroid function 
2. Topically to kill yeast, or yeast infections
3. Intensive nighttime facial moisturizer
4. Can help with digestion and may even kill intestinal parasites 
5. Mix a tablespoon of coconut oil with  tablespoon of chia seeds for an all-day energy boost 
6. Reduce appearance of varicose veins 
7. Rubbed into scalp daily to stimulate hair growth
8. Emulsified into coffee as creamer
9. Taken daily to improve sleep
10. Taken daily to increase mental alertness 
11. Used with baking soda as a naturally whitening toothpaste
12. Used consistently to reduce cellulite
13. Used with Brown Sugar or Himalayan Crystal Salt as a facial exfoliant 
14. Used as an eye cream reducing puffiness and dark circles 
15. Increases bone strength by allowing better absorption of calcium, magnesium and other minerals

HAPPY MONDAY READERS! LIVE HEALTHY. LIVE TRENDY.  LIVE HAPPY.

"The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow." - Unknown

It was one of the hardest periods of my life. It was actually the most challenging four months of my life to be exact- being the student that I am, my year begins in August and time moves forward in semesters and summer breaks or quarters and interterm sessions. I spent four months of my life dreading each mile of my drive from Beverly Hills to Orange County, each word that came out of my professors’ mouths, and each moment I had to be on campus.  I spent four months of my life merely existing without really living life, sixteen weeks of a life without passion and drive.  I spent 122 days, which actually felt like two years feeling… stuck!

It’s not often that I write about my own life… especially in first person, but I want to [preface] this piece of writing with the fact that I honestly, whole-heartedly believe that there is a great lesson to learn within my story and hopefully inspiration for the next person feeling like I did.

I wasn’t just feeling stuck. I defined myself that way—I was a stuck person, trapped in my own negativity, jammed between one poor grade and another, immovable.

It wasn’t until January that I decided to re-gain control of my life. I have always believed that when something isn’t working in our lives, we must drastically change an aspect in order for transformation to actually occur.

I had a coffee date with a very special woman today. Surprisingly, she said, “One of the most important things to remember about the industry is to listen, its to actually hear your client. Everyone wants to talk about themselves, we need to just really listen.” I grinned at the fact, electrified that I had said that exact sentence in the interview for my current job. I found myself being heard today and that in itself was inspiring. The fact that someone sat across the table from me, over coffee drinks, believing in my skill set, listening to my story was inspiring all in itself.

It’s strange to think that four months have already gone by, this time, in the blink of an eye. It’s bizarre to shut my eyes and think that four months ago, I had been stuck for four months. I was stuck—trapped in the darkest hole of my life, and now? Now I’m beginning one of the most exciting, one of the scariest journeys— my career and the rest of my life. There’s nothing like the feeling of the “ball rolling.” There’s nothing like taking control of our own lives, diving headfirst passionately and giving it all we’ve got.  There’s nothing like that feeling, the one of knowing how right what we are doing feels, and then being further inspired and encouraged to continue pursuing it.

Fashion & Entertainment PR   and   Corporate Event Planning, here I come!

[Dedicated, Allison Crandall] Thank you.