Tag Archives: inspiration

The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

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The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

Life can get pretty stale sometimes. Most of the time, if we want to be surprised, we have to wait for someone else to do it by arranging a spontaneous trip or giving us a gift. But what if we didn’t wait? What if, when we wanted to be surprised, we did it ourselves? It might not sound possible since being surprised is all about not knowing what’s coming, but we think it can be done, and we think it should be done. Here are some of our ideas:

Join A Subscription Box:

A subscription box is definitely something you can surprise yourself with. You’ll be sent a new box each month, and you’ll never know what’s going to be inside it. So, although you organized the box to be delivered, and although you’re paying for it, it’s still going to be a surprise. At the same time, it’s something you can look forward to, and this is a scarce combination indeed.

The key to enjoying your subscription box is to pick something you know you’re going to love, whatever the box’s actual contents might be. You could choose a Me Time Box or something that delivers food or cooking ingredients. There are boxes of clothes, bath salts, perfumes, and books. There are subscription boxes for pretty much everything, so search around and you’re sure to find one you like.

Write Yourself Notes:

We might think we’ve got good memories, but the human brain doesn’t remember everything. It only keeps the most important things where they can easily be reached through memory, and everything else is stored away much deeper. These things can usually only be triggered by a certain smell, photographs, or perhaps stories from friends and relatives.

This is why writing notes to yourself can be a great surprise. Write some positive notes and leave them in places where you know you’ll find them later on – maybe months down the line. When you find them, it will be a pleasant surprise and something to make you feel good. Some examples of what you can write include:

  • Stay positive
  • You are beautiful
  • You are loved
  • I’m proud of you
  • Keep going

Place the notes into drawers, under cushions, in coat pockets, in books, or even in outside places that you’re going to return to time and again.

Say Yes:

When we are asked to do something or given any kind of opportunity, there are two responses. You’ll either say yes or no. It’s easier to say no. Saying no means that nothing has to change, and we don’t have to try anything new. So most of the time, that’s what we’ll say.

Why not surprise yourself and say yes, instead? This will give you the chance to try all kinds of new things. Some you will dislike, some you will enjoy, and others you might fall in love with, and your life might change (for the better) because of it. Unless you say yes and give yourself a surprise, you’ll never know. Staying in your comfort zone is not surprising and will only cause stress and anxiety over time. At the very least, you’ll be bored!

Say yes to the ideas above and give yourself a surprise today!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Creating A More Healthy Home

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Creating A More Healthy Home

You want your home to be a healthy and safe space for your family to live in and there are plenty of things you can do to make sure your home is more health conscious. Whether it’s being more environmentally aware or making better choices with your food, here are some tips to make a healthier home:

Shop Healthy:

Grocery shopping for healthy food is a great way to start the improvement process. Try to create a list beforehand and have your meal options ready so that you can shop for all the necessary bits and pieces you’ll need to make it. It’s worth trying to find healthy alternatives to anything unhealthy that you buy as you certainly may find that there’s more available now than ever before. With an increased focus on different dietary requirements, you are likely to find a lot more suitable options out there that are going to taste good whilst also being very healthy.

Keep Up With Home Maintenance:

Home maintenance is important to keep up with as they can often affect your household’s health if you don’t look after it. For example, ensuring your heating and air conditioning units are working properly and that any necessary filters have been cleaned in order to keep the air nice and clean. It’s worth getting a company like River City Heating and Air who can help with any home maintenance or fixes that need doing. You should also be looking at other machines in your home like the washing machine and dishwasher, for example, to check that they’re being deep cleaned on a regular basis. Failure to do so might result in damage to the machines but also problems with your health in what clings to clothing or what’s found in the filters of your dishwasher.

Sometimes, however, problems will occur in your home that can’t be avoided with regular maintenance. It is a good idea to compile a list of professionals that you can call when a situation arises. This can include emergency electrical services, emergency plumbers, locksmiths, a garage door repair company, roof repair professionals, and tree removal specialists. Time is of the essence when a home emergency takes place and knowing who to call can only help you and save money when avoiding further damage.

Go Green & Save Money:

Going green can be helpful in creating a healthier home that’s not only beneficial for you but can also help you to protect the environment too. Look at the ways in which you can go green and how you might be able to save money at the same time. One example is to consider solar energy and installing solar panels onto the property in order to generate its own electricity. If you decide to go green with solar, we suggest maximizing the system efficiency by hooking up the panels to a battery storage. That way you can store the excess power and use it when your panels are not producing electricity.

Solar panels are amazing for the environment and can prove to be a huge money saver in the long run. This is an especially good option if your home gets a lot of natural sunlight. If you are interested in learning more, simply enter a search for “solar panels houston” (or your local area). A consultation with a team of professionals can answer your questions and provide you with the next steps to take.

Speaking of electricity, you could also consider a change in your commute with an electric vehicle. This is not only good for the environment but good for your wallet too. You can even use the help of Residential electricians in your area to install an EV charging station for you so you never have to worry about tracking one down. Finally, you could start recycling more and embracing a paperless and plastic-free home. Both of these are easy to do, and it just requires a bit of extra work and effort on your part.

Free Your Space Of Clutter:

If your home is full of clutter, it’s a good idea to try and find ways of freeing up your excess items where possible. Look at what you have in your areas now and to do a declutter every so often. You may be best to do it at the start and end of each season, seeing as we can end up bringing in a lot of stuff into our homes over time. Be active when it comes to staying on top of clutter, and you’ll have a much more enjoyable at home experience because of it.

Transform Your Garden:

Transforming your garden is one area of the home that often gets overlooked. However, you could do many things in your garden and that includes growing your own food. Improve your garden in different ways and make it a more livable space for you and your household. Whether it’s entertaining guests around a fire pit or pruning the garden with your children, the garden can be a great place to keep yourselves healthy.

Creating a healthy home is important, so use these tips to begin a positive change today!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Taking Your Career To The Next Stage With Legal Management

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Taking Your Career To The Next Stage With Legal Management

It is no secret that working within the legal sector can be highly tiring, you are often working unsociable hours, working through complicated paperwork, or presiding over complex cases. As a result, it is easy to feel tired or burned out at work. You may even feel as though you are ready for a career change.

Often, when we are overly busy, we feel as though we get caught in a cycle that we cannot escape, where work consumes most of our day, and we have little time for anything else. It is often hard to find new ways in which you can continue to develop your skills and take the next step in your career. However, that is where companies such as Elite lawyer management come in.

Elite Lawyer Management is a unique PR and talent marketing agency, who works closely with elite lawyers across America, helping them advance their careers through close collaboration. Their services cover a broad range of topics, each of which will help you advance. Here’s how:

Personal Branding:

When developing your personal branding, you can demonstrate your unique skills and capabilities, whilst also building a reputation of excellence within your field. Your personal brand will also allow you the opportunity to express yourself, meaning you can voice opinions about causes that are close to your heart. As a result, you will receive more focused work that is built upon your personal interests, allowing you to develop on a personal and professional level. It is fair to argue that personal branding is essential if you wish to work successfully as a lawyer.

Opening Doors:

Elite Lawyer Management works with lawyers whose careers exceed far beyond the courtroom, allowing you to develop a unique and diverse skill set. For example, they can help you step into the world of publishing and academia or public speaking – both of which will allow you to use your expertise to enact positive change and inform others. If you have always wanted to appear on television, you may also want to consider working as a legal advisor for a local or national news channel.

Content Marketing:

To take the next steps in your career, you need to ensure that you are staying up to date with current trends so that your work remains on the public radar. One way in which you can do this is through crafting an online presence. In fact, in a world that becomes more and more reliant on technology, not having a web presence could harm your growth. Whether this means you focus on cultivating a social media presence or writing blogs, management services can help your work reach the right audience.

In conclusion, legal management services are a great way to progress in your career, providing you with valuable ways in which you can develop your skills and help you stand out from the crowd. Even better, they will not work with any other attorneys or law firms that could be considered your direct competitor, proving that your success remains their priority.

Featured Image By: Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Creating The Perfect Bathroom

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Creating The Perfect Bathroom

Whenever you get the chance to revamp your bathroom, there’s bound to be so many different styles and aesthetics whizzing around your mind. From earthy and natural to sleek and modern, the list is truly endless when it comes to interior design options. Purchasing random furniture and fittings as well as seeking out the incorrect tradesmen in an attempt to convert your dreams into a reality may not always go as you had hoped, as bathroom renovation takes planning and detail to get right.

Luckily, there are a few key tips and tricks that you can make the most of to create the perfect bathroom in no time at all, and it needn’t be difficult to get started today. If you would like to find out more, then read on to uncover some of the best steps that you can utilize now to begin your bathroom renovations:

Mood Boards & More:

One of the first steps that you must take if you wish to achieve a successful makeover is the planning stage, as a mind full of ideas just isn’t going to be a feasible starting point. It’s a great idea to create a kind of mood board that involves all manner of different concepts and details, from potential paint colors to wallpaper designs, bathroom suite styles and tiles galore. Collecting a few snippets of inspiration will help your overall design flourish, and it’s really beneficial to have that initial reference point to express what you expect your tradesmen to achieve.

Explore online and in magazines for more inspiration, as there are hundreds of brand new interior design trends that you may just fall in love with! Tools like 3d interior rendering can help you visualize these new trends and what they would look like in your home before bringing them to life. You can even visit a local luxury hotel to check out the chic style of their en suites, as hotels generally have the most glorious and exotic of bathrooms for their guests to enjoy.

Once you have a clear idea of how you want the space to look, don’t forget the finishing touches to make it yours. Plush towels, soft shower mats and rugs, cute shower curtains, and copious amounts of products that smell amazing. Speaking of smelling amazing, do you have a scent for bathroom picked out? Luxury reed diffusers offer a fresh and clean scent without overpowering the space. They will make a great addition as they are quite small and can blend seamlessly into your decor.

Interior Design

Find The Right Support:

A bathroom renovation simply isn’t a DIY job – there are too many tasks that require specific skills or qualifications that the average person does not possess, and you may even be putting yourself in danger by attempting such efforts. It’s so vital that you can find the right support to help you achieve your interior design goals, as there are so many specialists out there just ready and waiting for your call. For example, if you need additional help with the floor plan and fixtures then enter a search for “Interior designer in Rockwall, TX” (or your local area). You will have a directory of designers at your fingertips.

The most important tradesmen that you must employ are local plumbers, as they have the key training required to totally revamp your bathroom suite in a safe and controlled manner. If you’re not totally equipped to choose the style of your new suite then don’t fret, as you can even enlist the support of a professional interior designer to help you make the best decisions to benefit your home’s aesthetic.

Creating the perfect bathroom has never been so simple when you are able to make the most of the amazing tips and tricks that have been detailed above. You’ll never want to leave the tub once you revamp your suite!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Tattoo You: Family Portraits Edition

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Tattoo You: Family Portraits Edition

Hello!! This past month, I treated myself to a tap out tattoo session AKA nine hours straight of getting work done. I prefer this method, as I can get a lot done at one time and my tattoo artist, Emily, completed nine tattoos and some touch ups during our time together. I love everything I got but I am particularly enamored with these family portraits I got on the side of my lower leg. Check it out:

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A lot of my tattoos are from comic books that I love but I also find inspiration when I’m scrolling through social media and see something cool. At some point, someone on my Facebook timeline posted the example picture that my tattoos are based on and I fell in love. I decided that I would like to do something similar with my own family and my tattoo artist made the perfect depictions with just lines and patterns.

My tattoos are in the following order:

  • Grandma, Grandpa (Dad’s side)
  • Grandma, Grandpa (Mom’s side)
  • Mom, Dad

Emily told me that the hardest part of sketching out these tattoos was making each silhouette look like the person despite not having a face. I say that she knocked it out of the park and I can see the likeness of all of my loved ones perfectly. In my parent’s house, all three of these pictures have been on the shelves in the living room for as long as I can remember and they have always been some of my favorites. I am proud to have something so beautiful to commemorate each family member and I have not been able to stop looking at my legs since I got the tattoos!! (PS: If you are considering getting tattooed, here is some useful information on: Which places hurt the most when getting tattooed).

Do you have any tattoos? Which one is your favorite? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Hi, How Are You?

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Hi, How Are You?

Hi there! Recently at work, I took a client through a McDonald’s drive thru for lunch. I pulled my car up to the speaker and greeted whomever was working with a standard “Hi, how are you?” A very young and shocked sounding male voice told me “no one ever asks me how I’m doing, I guess I’m doing pretty good”. We chatted for a few seconds and he took my order, then I pulled up to his window to make the transaction.

A barely twenty-something year old kid who looked miserable, at best, had the voice I could finally put a face to. However, when I pulled my car up, he gave me a huge smile and thanked me for “being cool”. My heart somewhat broke and exploded. Broke because this young man working at a Micky D’s right off of the highway had a high point in his day just because I asked him how he was. Exploded because something so simple improved how he felt and, therefore, it made me feel good.

After I rolled up to the next window, I proceeded to give his compliments to the manager because he deserved it. He was prompt and kind and I wanted his day to continue to be the best. When my client and I drove away she told me “I think you made his day” and I told her that he made mine too.

Times are crazy right now. COVID and political unrest do not make for the most ideal living situation! But, times are never too crazy to be friendly to everyone you encounter and I think this story definitely can attest to that. ❤

How has someone made your day recently? How have you made someone’s day? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Making It Work

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Making It Work

Hello! I recently had to cancel a lifewithlilred photo shoot for COVID reasons and I was so disappointed because it was a treat I was really looking forward to. Safety trumps all, however, so I decided to try and make a photo shoot work anyway. Thanks to my mom’s iPod photography skills, I had a bounty of great shots to pick from and I enjoyed the quality time with JANE most of all.

You know how after you take a bunch of pictures, you immediately seek out the ones that you deem “good”? I am guilty of it, myself, and it took a few times of scrolling through my pics to see the beauty in the unintentional shots my mom captured. In fact, quite a few of them ended up being my favorites! Check it out:

E47DF544-DAFC-4F26-9BF6-2FCA7538EDF6AB99448F-85D8-45C2-84DE-DFCD754659D0D82E495F-B060-4EE9-91B1-FBFE52D580B90102C057-4FB2-410E-9612-9B578F42EC24

Keeping two businesses up and running during any time is stressful but during a pandemic it is even crazier! This photo shoot was such a nice way to relax and have some fun and so much new content for lifewithlilred has been inspiring for me. Not to mention your girl was feeling her goddamn self!!

For the past six years of being self employed, making it work has been the name of the game. I wouldn’t have it any other way and it only improves my ability to think creatively and problem solve. These “oopsie” pictures are a visual reminder to me to keep making things work – from maintaining my businesses to taking the time to notice the amazing things that can be captured every moment. It’s all about just knowing where to look. 🙂

How do you make it work during stressful times? What is something that you find beautiful? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

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Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

Hi! This past weekend, lifewithlilred was nominated for its first Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award by my friend, Luna, over at BetterDayWeb. It has been a good long while since my page was nominated for a blogging award so I was excited to work on this post after reading Luna’s comment to me with the award info. It is so nice to know that other people take something positive with them when they visit my page and it is much appreciated. For more positive, inspiring bloggers, do be sure to check out Luna’s blog, as well! Now, let’s get on to the rules for this award:

The Rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their site
  • Answer the questions you got
  • Nominate up to 9 bloggers and ask them 5 new questions
  • Notify the bloggers you nominate so they know they have been nominated
  • List the rules and display the award logo in your blog post
  • Provide a link to the award creator. Rising Star from https://idealinspiration.blog/

Q & A:

What is the absolute best thing that has happened in your life so far? Just one?! How about three? Lol, I love being an aunt, I am insanely proud of my two businesses, and I have a wonderful family and boyfriend. That is all, definitely, the best!

Do you have a special talent, if yes; what is it? I have an excellent memory, which made my time in the theater world a snap with all of the lines I had to memorize! Now, I use that special gift to learn different languages. I currently practice French, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, and American Sign Language. I’d like to learn Latin or Swedish next.

If you could do anything you wanted at all with no risk of failing. What would you do? This is a tough one! I would probably go to the skating rink and bust out some Olympic level figure skating – which, sadly, only happens in my dreams!

Fill in the blank. To me, Happiness is ________. Being with my family, hands down.

What always makes you smile? Coming home from work and seeing Johnny after a long day. 🙂

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

My Questions For You:

  1. Which actor or actress would you love to be besties with?
  2. Do you like salty snacks or do you have a sweet tooth?
  3. How did the coronavirus affect your neck of the woods?
  4. Favorite movie, TV show, and book?
  5. What is your favorite season and why?

Thank you so much again to the darling Luna for nominating lifewithlilred for the Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award! How would you answer some of Luna’s questions for her nominees? How about some of my questions for mine? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Taking Care Of My Mental Health In Quarantine

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Taking Care Of My Mental Health In Quarantine

Hello! Living in a quarantine style state can be very taxing on one’s mental health. It’s hard when you can’t see your friends as often and every day outings that you used to look forward to have become a thing of the past. As someone who has struggled with depression for over a decade, I know first hand that it can be very easy to fall into a slump when you’re confined to the four walls of your home day in and day out.

So, how do I keep a positive attitude despite hardly ever leaving my apartment? A healthy mixture of the following keeps me right on track:

Scheduled Pampering:

Once a week, typically over the weekend, I always enjoy using a new face mask. I like having a “treat” that I look forward to and experimenting with different face masks is a fun and cheap way to try something new. I ordered a pack of six different sheet face masks from Amazon and got twelve in total for ten bucks. I thought it was a steal and now I have something new to try for the next several weeks. Score!

Getting Enough Sleep:

I think one of the most important things that one can do, especially if they are currently not working, is to continue with their normal sleep schedule. It is very easy to fall into the trap of staying up late and sleeping in until the following afternoon and that is not good! Try and maintain your regular schedule throughout the day as much as possible. I always find that a sense of normality makes me feel better and a good night’s sleep tends to do the trick, too. 🙂

Exercise Your Mind:

There are so many fun apps and games that are designed to make you think. Believe you me, I enjoy a video game or movie marathon just as much as the next one. But, so much mindless entertainment can leave your brain feeling mushy. Spend an hour or two a day with a good book, a crossword puzzle, or even building with LEGO. I promise that it will be a welcome break from whatever show you’re currently binging and your brain will thank you!

Talking About It:

We are all dealing with the current state of things differently because we have never experienced anything like this before. Everyone is feeling nervous and scared and those feelings can continue to fester into something debilitating if you keep it all bottled up. Have a conversation with a trusted friend or family member and voice what is concerning you or giving you anxiety. You will probably find that they have a lot of similar fears and that is usually really comforting to me and, hopefully, for you too.

With the times that we are living in right now, it is easy to let your own self care fall by the wayside. So, use the tips above and get yourself back to baseline and, then, beyond!

How have you been taking care of your mental health? What make you feel better? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Four Ways To Help Bring Calmness To Your Life

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Four Ways To Help Bring Calmness To Your Life

Bringing a sense of calmness into your life can be refreshing. With the hustle and bustle of life, things tend to get a little overwhelming and it’s good to find some perspective to keep grounded. Here are four ways to help bring a sense of tranquility into your day:

Reduce Your Stress Levels:

Stress is something that can really throw you off from keeping yourself calm, and not only is it something that affects you mentally, it can also have a lot of physical impacts too. It’s important to try and find ways to reduce your stress levels where you can and try to control what stress has been created in your life that you might be able influence. If you’re finding your job is getting too stressful, make the necessary arrangements to try and find solutions to making it more bearable. Whether it’s speaking to your boss or looking for a job that is less stressful in nature. There are both big and small ways that you can help to reduce your stress levels. Look at what’s stressing you out currently and pinpoint the areas where you might be able to improve it.

Find Positive Outlets:

Positive outlets are good for controlling stress and for bringing more calmness to your life. Everyone has various outlets that keep them satisfied and happy in life. Yours might be a lot different from the next person, but that’s fine as long as they bring comfort for you. So perhaps one of these outlets might be reading a book once a week or month? It could be taking fitness classes or picking up a hobby that you’ve always wanted to try. Find something that’s going to be good for you, and the more you have, the better you’ll feel.

Keep Yourself Distracted:

Keeping yourself distracted can certainly help when it comes to bringing more peace into your life. Avoid the things that are causing the issues and find those parts in your life that help to keep you distracted. It might be trying some products from kayahempco.com or throwing yourself into work if that’s something you enjoy doing. There will always be something that can help keep you from thinking about those negatives in your life, so concentrate on what will give you that opportunity to switch off.

Surround Yourself With The Right People:

Surrounding yourself with the right people is certainly important, and there can be a lot of joy that comes from being with those you love. Spending time with people who are going to bring you up, rather than put you done will be so much better for your state of mind and promoting a more carefree lifestyle. It’s not healthy to have people in your life who are going to bring you down.

Life isn’t always calm, but can be when we focus on the things that make us happiest!

Featured Image By: Pexels