Health & Wellness

Treat Yourself, Mamas!

According to phychcentral.com, self-care is defined as any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook.

Self-care is very important, especially for mothers! As mothers, we deal with a lot during the day. We need all the time we get to take care of ourselves!

Whenever I get the time to have a day for myself, I like to go to the salon for a manicure and pedicure! When I get my nails done, I am so happy! Whenever I am with my friends, without kids, we like to have our ‘mom time’ or ‘girl time’, kid-free.

Self-care is so important and it is always nice to have some relaxing time for ourselves!

Of course there are many different ways to tackle self-care. Everyone has their own preferences and different methods to make them feel relaxed and rested!

Fashion

Did You Say Leopard Print?

I have never actually hopped on a fashion trend until this summer. Every store I went to there was something with leopard print! I have two things that fell in love with and had to get!

The first thing is a pair of wedges slide on sandals from my absolutely favorite store! Altard‘ State is a store I could spend all my money in, even if things are pretty expensive, I cannot get myself out of that store once I step inside!

The second thing I have is a bikini swim sit from Target. It is high waisted, which I love! It is also super cute and I feel so comfortable in it! I don’t always get lucky at Target, but it is also one of my favorite stores! my daughter and I go so often and it can be a bad thing at times. As you know, it’s a Target run and done!

I hope leopard print stays around for a while because I love it so much! It is such a fun summer print and I have seen a lot of different clothing and accessories around with the print. The print also photographs really well!

leopard print sandals from Altard’ State
Travel

My Top 5 Vacation Spots

Here are my Top 5 favorite places to vacation

  1. Daufuskie Island, South Carolina
  2. Karlsruhe, Germany
  3. Paris, France
  4. San Franciso, California
  5. Las Vegas, Nevada

Here’s why I love these places and think they are great to explore!

Number 1:

Daufuskie Island, South Carolina:Specifically referring to Haig Point, which is a private part of Daufuskie. If you leave the gated area of Haig Point, there are other communities on the island. Daufuskie is a hidden island located across from Harbour Town (Hilton Head Island). This island is very family-friendly. There is something for everyone to do and I can’t get over how beautiful it is! No cars allowed, golf carts only, which makes it so much more fun! There are beaches, pools, clubhouse, beach house, so many restaurants, etc. There is a community dock, which is a great place to watch the sunset. Two ways to get to the mainland — ferry to the Haig Point Embarkation and water taxi to Harbour Town. We absolutely love visiting the island. If you are looking for a new place to vacation, I would highly recommend Daufuskie Island!

Daufuskie Island, South Carolina – Sunset on the beach

Number 2:

Karlsruhe, Germany: If you are looking for an international trip to Germany, I would highly recommend visiting Karlsruhe. It is a smaller city, but so much to see! My fiance was born and raised there, so I go there at least once a year. It is also easy to get to different cities via the train. We like to visit Heidelberg while in Karlsruhe. The city center in Karlsruhe has recently completed construction, and it is beautiful! The castle is also a place to go see, it is very pretty. In the summer, they do a light show that is projected onto the castle! All in all, it is a beautiful city.

Castle in Karlsruhe – Now a museum

Number 3:

Paris, France: Paris has so many wonderful sights! The Eiffel Tower was amazing, although it was pouring rain once we got to the very top and the winds were so strong we got soaked! At night, the Eiffel Tower also gets lit up and is very beautiful! The Arc de Triomphe is beautiful, and I believe you can go to the top, but we did not. The castle of Versailles is also beautiful. We had to wait in a pretty long line in the rain to get in, but it was so worth it! The inside is beautiful and there’s nothing to compare it to. Paris is the city of love, and it was my first international city to go to with my special person! I would definitely recommend going.

The Eiffel Tower

Number 4:

San Francisco, California: San Francisco is your typical California city. The Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful and there are a couple of beaches and parks around it to ger great pictures! There is the Fisherman’s Wharf where you will see lots of seals lounging around on rocks and swimming. You may also even come across people swimming nude — yes I saw it and it was nothing that I expected! There are also some older boats that you can step into that have been turned into museums. Lombard Street is also a site to visit, although standing at the top, it is hard to see the shape, but everyone gathers around there. You will see people trying so hard to make the sharp turns. The Painted Ladies houses are across the street from a park that a lot of people go to and it is also a few blocks from the house that you see in the introduction to Full House! I love San Francisco and will always go back!

The Golden Gate Bridge – It always seems to be very foggy!

Number 5:

Las Vegas, Nevada: Las Vegas is a wonderful, amazing, crazy city! The Excalibur Hotel is shaped like a castle, has a casino, and an amazing pool area. I think there are 3 pools and a few bars in the ‘resort’. You won’t walk down the main street without seeing something bazaar, but it’s Vegas, what can you expect? The Bellagio does an amazing water show and MGM Hotel has lots of fun stores and sites to see. I don’t recommend taking a baby, as we did. There are too many people and trying to maneuver a stroller around the crowded sidewalks is difficult. It is a super fun city for adults!

View from hotel in Las Vegas
Travel

Did You Say Golf Cart Parade?!

Just a couple days before we left for our summer vacation, my mom texted me: “There will be a golf cart parade and there is a winner.” Once I got that text, I was so excited to go out and buy decorations for the golf cart!

It was our first time going to the island for the 4th of July, and for this golf cart parade, I had no idea what to expect. I bought the most basic “giant house decorations” from Party City thinking that would make the cut, but I was so wrong. There were golf carts that had many decorations, including multiple blow-up pool floats, flags, stars, streamers, etc. Meanwhile, we have a couple streamers and some USA signs.

It wasn’t all about winning for me though, I just wanted to do something fun and participate! I loved seeing all the other golf carts that were crazy decked out in USA related things. I wish I had more time to plan something spectacular! There is always next year!

Who knew that the other members on the island would get so into decorating their golf carts for a little friendly competition? We had a ton of fun, and will be far more prepared for next year!

Our wonderfully decorated gold cart
Other members golf carts!

Travel

Let’s Go To The Beach!

Who wouldn’t pass up a beach vacation, especially if it was on a private island? I thought the route to get to the beach would be so easy since we were flying! Unfortunately, in my case driving probably would have been easier! After 3 attempts trying to take off, they finally say that we will be going back to the terminal and deplaning! So great, here we are stuck at home still…and then, of course, the pilot says 20 minutes before we try again. We finally got up into the air, but missed our connecting flight and had to take a flight the next morning!

We land at our final destination and hop in our Uber for a 15-20 minute ride to the embarkation and then a 30-minute ferry ride to the island. It has been a crazy 24 hours of traveling and we finally made it to the island!

We made the best we could out of the rough start to our beach vacation and we are having a great time with the family! There is no better way to spend the 4th of July than to spend it with family.

Favorite Beach

My favorite beach to go to on the island is at Bloody Point! It is about a 20-minute golf cart ride, but it is totally worth it! You do have to leave the gates of Haig Point, but the beach at Bloody Point is a lot better! The beach at the Beach Club in Haig Point is not swimmable and it is full of thousands of oyster shells that can very easily tear up your feet! The Bloody Point beach is like any typical beach you would go to. There is lots of space, sand, and water to swim in! The water is warm and the waves are fun, especially for the little ones we take to the beach.

Beach at Haig Point Beach Club
Beach at Bloody Point

Fitness

Building A Better Future

As a young, 23 year old mom and college student, I have to be a role model for my 2 year old daughter. Besides working on my education, I have to work on myself and my fitness.

I am working hard to build a better and healthier lifestyle. It may sound like something easy, but when there is an 2 year old running around, it’s not so easy for me. All I am trying to do is get a quick workout in and eat healthy meals, but with a toddler to watch over i usually don’t get my workout in and grab whatever is in reach to snack on during the day.

The motivation to get me through it all is on my desktop — Actually, I can. — I can get through it, I can make a better life for myself, I can work out for 15 minutes a day, I can eat healthier.

Working on my blog, finishing school, taking care of the house and my daughter is a challenge! I look up to every mom out there who can get through it without a meltdown here and there. It is so hard no to get frustrated over the little things that get in your way!

When I am feeling stressed, I like to go on walks, because it will help clear my head to be able to stay focused on building by future! There is always something you can better for yourself! Stay focused and positive, you can do it!