Tag: self love

21 in 2021

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As part of my Happiness Project [more to come on that soon], part of the first task was to make a list of 21 things to do in the year 2021. I’ve done these before but normally they were huge goals. This year, I’m making a list of 21 things that I would like to accomplish [big or small]. I’ll check back on this list at the end of 2021 or earlier if I happen to finish them before then. Here goes my 21 things to accomplish in 2021.

Physical Health

  1. Complete a workout program [any length, any kind, just complete it. Start to finish]
  2. Figure out what is wrong with my stomach and get It fixed [remove a food, try a new diet, etc.]
  3. Find a Workout class I enjoy
  4. Cook one new recipe a month
  5. Get the COVID vaccine
  6. Eat less ‘added’ sugar
  7. Stay sober
  8. Complete Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day Breathe Yoga Journey

Mental Health

  1. Read 20 books
  2. Practice self-care daily [workout, reading, face mask, cooking, etc.]
  3. Keep my social media hiatus until June [or longer]

Spiritual Health

  1. Meditate or do yoga for one hour per week

Work

  1. Figure out my next move- Grad school, Peace Corps, teaching in America, teaching abroad – who knows?
  2. If I choose working… Get a job for the 2021-2022 school year.
  3. Blog 50 times
  4. Write 20,000 words in my novel

Play

  1. Take a week-long vacation with my sister
  2. Visit one new country [COVID pending]
  3. Learn something new – Calligraphy, Crochet, How to Play piano – who knows?

Other

  1. Pick my one-word theme for the year
  2. Replace an item with something that makes more ‘sense’ at the time

I like the last one the most. My goals might change over the year and that’s okay!!! So, if that happens, I get a freebie change to use however I see most fit. I’m also hoping to blog about each of these as they are completed and I will add a new tab on my blog called “Happiness Project” soon for all posts related to my happiness project.

❤ Alicia

2020 year in review

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Hi all. While 2020 wasn’t anything like we’d expected [myself the least I think], I do think 2020 overall was a good year. While a lot of crap happened this year, a lot of good things happened as well. Of course, most of these from the comfort of my 8ft x 10ft bedroom, but good things, nonetheless.

I started off the year with a few of my best friends from high school, my first-time celebrating NYE at a bar… oh how I took that evening for granted. I also went on my first ever real date [sorry for ghosting you Adam but you only ever communicated over snapchat… big red flag for me] just before heading off to another country for another semester.

I spent my last semester of college completing my student teaching in Greece. Visiting other countries like Bulgaria, The Netherlands, and Belgium. I met some amazing people, Greek, American, Spanish, etc. while I was there. It was one of the best [and most eye-opening] experiences of my life. That of course got cut to an abrupt stop on a Thursday in March and I was then shipped back home after sobbing in the Thessaloniki airport when I thought there were no more flights back to America.  Nonetheless, I made it back home, in one piece, and subsequently, I spent the next 9 months quarantining…

March, April, and May were spent by moping around, walking my dog, beating every video game I own, cleaning my room, graduating college [oh ou, oh yeah I forgot about this], and spending far too many hours scrolling through tik tok.

June and July were the first time I’ve seen real people since March [outside of my immediate family]. I celebrated my 23rd birthday with my parents and my sister at my favorite restaurant [thank god for it being on a corner and having outdoor seating] and then in July I visited some friends in Ohio and spent a week in Wisconsin at my cousin’s new home. July is also the last time I’ve had alcohol [and hopefully ever will].

August and September were a whirlwind of shipping my sister off to college, waiting for my visa for Spain to get approved, it finally getting approved, packing my life into a suitcase, duffle bag and my backpack until I finally left for Spain.

As we all know, October left me returning home from Spain for a multitude of personal reasons, which as much as I hate to admit, it was the best decision I could have made. October also consisted of me starting therapy and getting my first ever big girl job [Spanish Teacher at a K-12 school in Chicago]. I also deleted my social media which I still don’t use [and TikTok got the boot too].

November and December have been about getting into a routine of a 40 hour a week job while still taking time for myself and my growth. And now, here I am, sitting on my bed during my first vacation as a working adult, writing my first blog post in months.

2020 has been a year of personal growth, setting boundaries [for myself and others], and enjoying all of the little things.

I am hoping that 2021 is full of life, love, happiness, and goal achieving, no matter how big or small any of these are for me and for you.

See you all in 2021.

❤ Alicia

Orgain Protein Review

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Disclosure: some of  the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no  additional cost to you, 
I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to treat my body as best as I can because I’m trying to love myself and part of loving yourself comes from treating your body right. I’ve been trying to eat a balanced amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats. However, as a vegan, it can be a little harder to get in all of my protein daily, so, I usually have a protein shake or smoothie after my workout each day. I’m also trying to eat less processed foods which, unfortunately, a lot of vegan meats are high in chemicals and words I don’t know so, I was stuck in a rut with my diet for quite a bit.

I’ve used quite a few vegan proteins in my day however, there were none that I ever loved [either the price or the flavor] until this summer. While scrolling through vegan protein recommendations on a blog I was reading in April, I discovered Orgain Protein. Orgain protein is very plant-heavy and doesn’t have the chemicals that other proteins I’ve had have.

I’ve been using this protein for about five months and have loved every product I’ve tried. From their protein shakes, powders, and bars, everything is good!

My biggest thing when it comes to protein is taste. A lot of proteins don’t taste good and it can still be tasted when added to food. I’ve put the powders in smoothies and oatmeal and to my surprise, it tastes good!!! Depending on what flavor I use [PB or chocolate fudge are the powders I’ve tried and keep coming back to] it adds to the food I put it in and you can taste the chocolate or peanut butter in the food I’m eating. I also enjoy drinking their protein shakes plain or in a fruit smoothie with granola after a workout.

My favorite thing about Orgain protein is that there are tons of flavors and options for products. I love their creamy chocolate protein shake and their peanut butter chocolate vegan protein powder. The biggest thing I love about these is that they are soy-free [my stomach does not tolerate soy which is why I’m opting to eat less soy in my diet].

Overall, if you’re looking for a protein, in whatever form, I would recommend Orgain.

I loved them enough to become an ambassador. If you decide to give Orgain a shot, you can use my code: LIVINGOFFLEESH30 for 30% off your first order [they even had nonvegan protein and collagen]

Much love,
Alicia

Why mental and spiritual health are just as important as physical health

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I’ve become an absolute podcast fiend. I love having background noise in my life when doing mundane tasks like the dishes, cleaning, walking my dog, etc. and normally I would just play the TV. However, before I went to Spain, I started listening to podcasts regularly. I’ve learned so much from every episode and they’re so fun to listen to because it literally feels like you’re having a chat with the people on the podcast.

I’m a huge fan of The Health Code [Sarah’s Day and Kurt Tilse], A Whole Lotta BS [Brittney Saunders] and Let’s Do Life [Autumn Calabrese]. I also listened to part of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [read aloud by some of the cast including Tom Felton and Daniel Radcliffe!] but that’s not what this post is about.

In one of the podcast episodes [I can’t remember which because this was a BS-before Spain- podcast I listened to] they discussed that people often focus too much on physical health, or too much on spiritual health or emotional health and neglect the other two. You can’t have one without the others. This is why people who go really hard in the gym but have terrible mental health [me] aren’t quite content with the results they get. However, when you focus equal time and energy to all three, they all work together and you yourself come together in a more wholesome form than when you just focused on one. I have always advocated for all three [to my friends not to myself] and I realized that I mostly only focus on one, which always differs depending on what season of life I’m in.

My goal for the rest of the year is to pour an equal amount of time, effort, and energy into my physical, mental, and emotional health so that I can be more whole.

  • In terms of physical health: filling my body with whole foods that make my body feel good [which unfortunately might mean cutting out soy partially because it doesn’t agree with my stomach], taking vitamins, and moving my body every day.
  • As for mental health: my social media detox, therapy, reading, writing, and getting a job [to have something occupying my time] top this list.
  • Finally, my spiritual health. I will be meditating, doing yoga, and journaling [manifesting]. I will also be more active in learning about my spiritual health. I recently have discovered that I’m more of a spiritual person. I always knew I wasn’t religious, but I think the universe plays a big role in everyone’s lives and I want to learn how to work with the universe not against it [something I’ve been doing for a while I think].

Please send me any and all podcast recommendations! I have a long way to go with the TBB podcast [there are over 200 episodes with each being roughly one hour long] but once I finish, I’m looking for some! I like more health and wellness focused podcasts but would be down for lifestyle, vegan, etc. As long as I learn at least one fun thing per episode that’s all I’m asking for.

Much love,

Alicia ❤

Making oat milk

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Happy Monday, as most of you know, I’ve been very much into sustainable living and all that jazz. One of the things that can help you be more sustainable is by making household products yourself. I’ve made soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. but I wanted to take a more foody approach this time so I made oat milk! You can make milk from anything these days but one of the most sustainable kinds of milk to drink is oat milk [it uses the least amount of water to make] and I had yet to find a brand or type I’ve enjoyed, so instead, I made my own. I scoured the internet for recipes and didn’t find one I particularly liked so in true Alicia fashion, I wung It and made my own recipe.

I wanted to share that this experience was far from the many photos I see on Instagram of people holding one of those antique milk jugs filled with oat milk and sipping away.

First and foremost, I would like to say that I would not recommend using a food processor. You HAVE to use a blender. I swear by my food processor and use it to make ice cream, smoothies, protein bars, etc. However, when it comes to blending liquid, do NOT use the food processor. I turned that bad boy on and there was oaty water all over the place. While my food processor is bigger than my blender, I should have just made multiple small batches in the blender rather than one big batch in my food processor because I wasted over half of it as it spewed all around my kitchen [and onto me].

Nevertheless, it did taste good and I’d make it again just in my blender because then hopefully the oats would grind up and mix in with the water a bit more than they did as well to make thicker and creamier oat milk [I want to put it in my coffee] which is what I was going for.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of oats [use more if you want it thick and creamy]
  • 4 cups of water
  • 2-3 pitted dates [depending on desired sweetness]
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla [I prefer my dairy-free milk to be vanilla flavored. If you don’t, you can omit this or add another flavor]
  • Shirt or cheesecloth [I used a both in my process and found an old -but clean- shirt can be much more useful because no oats get through the shirt whereas when I used the cheesecloth, a little did get through]
  • Jar [I used a quart ball jar]

Directions:

  1. Place all food ingredients in the blender and blend until white.
  2. Add more oats or more water until you reach your desired consistency
  3. Place shirt or cheesecloth over the jar and slowly add milk onto the cheesecloth/shirt until there is no more liquid in your blender.
  4. Enjoy!

It’s quite simple [when you know what you’re doing] so I went through the troubles of being an idiot so you all don’t have to!

Have you ever made dairy-free milk? How did it go?
❤ Alicia

Why I’m taking a social media break

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I’m officially back in America and readjusting to everything I just left. I’m unpacking, spending much needed time with my dog [I always forget how much of a de-stressor she is until I am so stressed out that I’m in tears] and I’m slowly getting into a routine.

Something that I think is so toxic to me at this point in my life is social media. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and I’m a very black and white person so I’m either on social media for 1912912 hours a day or none at all. While I do enjoy Instagram for keeping up with my friends’ lives and Twitter is great for the news and a good laugh, I really can’t take it right now. I spend hours upon hours scrolling through social media and I really can’t stand it because it’s the biggest waste of time [I’m looking at you TikTok].

I’ve decided to take a bit of a social media hiatus [I’m keeping Snapchat for the time being because I don’t look at stories, I just send a picture or two to the same seven people every day and get on with my life but that might change… who knows? I’ll also keep TikTok because to me that’s not social media and I just watch Draco Malfoy, Harry Styles, and Robert Pattinson compilations so how bad is that? Both of these apps will be getting a screen time limit and the password will be chosen by my sister because it is far too easy to enter that screen time password and keep watching TikToks for hours upon hours not that I’m speaking from personal knowledge 😉 ]

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will be gone for a while. I did it almost four years ago for a whole summer and I think it was beneficial for my mental health. I also read and wrote a lot more, worked out more, was present, etc. I don’t think social media is the worst thing in the world by any means BUT I do think a hiatus can be an amazing thing every so often.

And of course, I’ll still be blogging as much as I can. I’m hoping therapy can spark a bit more motivation in me than what I’ve had.

Have you ever done a social media detox/hiatus? How’d it go?
❤ Alicia

Beginnings and Endings

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Hi all. If you remember me talking about my BIG move to Spain to teach at a university here, well… it happened. I’m currently sitting in my Airbnb in Ciudad Real, Spain as I type this. I’ve been here for one week, and I’ve fallen in love with this city.

I’m not typing this post as means of a WOOHOO I’m in Spain… quite the latter. Unfortunately, I will be heading home. I don’t really want to get into why because I’ve been stressing for the past few days about it. I’m heading home and my life in Spain will have gone just as quickly as it came.

Although I’m very disheartened that this journey of mine is coming to a rather abrupt halt, I’m seeing the good in this whole situation and there are actually a lot of upsides to this situation I’ve found out.

  • I get to see my dog on WEDNESDAY. She is going to be so confused as to why I cried about leaving her for over an hour [I spent almost every waking minute with her since I started quarantining on March 18th… give me a break] and now I’m home so quick.
  • I get to see my aunt’s dog on Wednesday as well. My aunt got surgery and is going to be in rehab for about a month so until then, TWO dogs.
  • I get to make more money than I would have while in Spain. No matter what I do, I’ll be making more money in America per paycheck than per month in Spain [not that I cared about that, I wanted this experience more than any amount of money].
  • ~Hopefully~, I get to take a trip to Europe with my sister next summer. She’s always wanted to go to Paris, and I have a hankering to go to London and all of the UK, so hopefully, we’ll be able to head over there for a few weeks. We can take the HARRY POTTER tour, go to Harry Styles’ bakery, and see the Louvre. Also, she’s my personal photographer so the Instagram content from that trip would be AMAZING.
  • I get to VOTE. I left for Spain before early voting started in my county and I was unsure if my mail-in ballot would make it to Spain and back to America in time once I got my address. However, when I get home, I’ll head straight to the early voting polls and get to ~hopefully~ vote out 45.
  • I am going to be able to focus on me. I probably won’t be able to get a full-time teaching job [since the semester is halfway over] nor do I want one in the condition America is in right now as to not risk getting COVID in a room with 25 germ spreaders. I’ll probably find something part-time [retail, babysitting /e-learning help, substitute teaching, etc.] and I will have plenty of time to take care of myself. I will be going to therapy [probably twice per week to start], exercising, eating right, reading, writing, and doing everything that I love.
  • I might write a novel! I have always wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo and because COVID will most likely still be terrorizing America next month, I should have enough time to do it. I also have a great idea [or at least I think I do] so once I create some characters, figure out the rest of the plot, etc. NaNoWriMo here I come.


Finally, while talking to my sister last night [amidst my mental breakdown from this hectic week I’ve had] and she said I looked sad and emotionally drained. Honestly, I am. I don’t think it’s just from this week but from everything built up that I’m finally starting to recognize. It’s very easy to put your mental health off in college because it’s “cute and quirky” to be depressed and to be anxious and to be so stressed you cry. When you’ve graduated… girl, go to therapy. Also, this past week I’ve been alone most of the time. COVID is preventing me from going out and meeting people and every ‘tourist’ activity I want to do is also closed so I’ve been spending a lot of time in my hotel room, pent up with just my thoughts. And let me tell you, my brain needs a lot of help at the moment. I love traveling but my sister told me that I use traveling to put off getting mental help. It’s true [I hate it when little siblings are correct]. I live off that travel high long after I return and when I get back into my head aging, away I go on a new trip. So, while I wish I could have been living in Spain and working on me, I think for myself [present and future] I’m going to benefit the most from being home for the foreseeable future.

I think I’m meant to live in Spain for an extended period… I do. However, this year just isn’t it. I will return one day to Spain but it might not be this year or even next year. Whether I return to Spain as a tourist or to teach again, I know I’ll be back one day. J

España, te quiero mucho y regresaré un día.
❤ Alicia

My flight essentials

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Happy Tuesday. Now I know most of us aren’t doing much [if any] travel these days, so keep this bad boy saved for when you’re flying next. I, however, will be making another trip to Spain in the coming weeks. I was originally supposed to leave in six days, however, my visa has still yet to be approved so I’ll be heading there before the end of the month if plan B goes smoothly.

Something I’ve become quite good at is flying. I’ve loved flying ever since I was little, however, when I first started solo traveling [flying to and from San Diego when this blog was just a baby] I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I would bring so much stuff in my carry on “just in case” that I never ended up using // needing. After 20 or more [ I have no idea if I’m being honest] solo flights around the US, South America, and Europe, I’ve come to know what things are essential for your flight and what can stay at home or in your checked baggage. Here are my top 5 carry on flight essentials.

  1. Snacks – This will forever and always be my #1 flight essential. I’m going to count gum in this category too because I cannot and will not fly without a pack of gum for take-off and landing. For super long overseas flights or for flights with layovers, bringing snacks from home is always the better and cheaper option. Food and drinks in airports are EXPENSIVE and depending on the country’s exchange rate, just not even worth it. Because of this, I always bring an empty water bottle [to fill up after security] and a few snacks [some sweet, some savory] such as dried fruit, nuts, crackers, etc. anything to fill me up and get me to where I’m going. I find that when you have dietary restrictions such as myself, it’s even more important that you bring these on flight snacks. Just because they offer a vegan or gluten free or whatever meal option, does, BY NO MEANS, mean it will be a good one.
  2. Chargers – My favorite thing about longer flights is that they normally have a charging port on the seat back in front of you. My flight to Greece was 11 hours and I’m stupid and forgot to check in 24 hours in advance which meant a middle seat for me. It was miserable and I couldn’t get comfortable enough to take a nap. Therefore, I spent the 11 hours watching 6 movies, playing games on my phone, listening to music etc. When I switched my time to watching movies, I plugged in my phone so that it wouldn’t die during my layover or before I got to my new apartment.
  3. A book // E-reader – Not everyone loves reading on airplanes, but I personally do. I try to grab my computer and write on flights normally but not all planes have enough room to have a laptop out and elbows jabbing when you’re typing. I always carry a book in my bag for those tight spaces on airplanes and when you can’t get Wi-Fi at your layover airport [or if you have a 4-hour layover and only are allowed 1 hour of Wi-Fi … thanks Istanbul]
  4. Headphones – A lot of longer flights will gives you headphones to watch movies, listen to music, etc. They almost always suck. I always bring two pairs of headphones [my AirPods for my phone and a pair that works for the traditional headphone jack] so that I can enjoy movies on the plane and have headphones that I can actually hear out of both sides.
  5. A ‘just in case’ bag – this is 100% the most important in my opinion. The last thing you want to happen is for your luggage to get lost and you’re without a toothbrush, underwear, or deodorant. In my carry on, I always carry a bag of miscellaneous items I might need on the flight or after if my luggage is lost. This usually consists of: a hairbrush, bobby pins, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, travel shampoo + conditioner, tissues, soap, lotion, hair ties, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, etc. I then have an extra outfit [usually just bra, underwear, socks, t shirt and leggings] in case something happens to the clothes I’m wearing, or my luggage gets misplaced.

Obviously, each person’s carry on will depend on you and your interests, but I have to think that these items are pretty much universal, and anyone can and will need one or all of these at some point while travelling.

❤ Alicia

Explore: Brussels Belgium

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Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Belgium for the weekend. After I found roundtrip airfare for $70 I knew I had to jump on this opportunity and take a visit. I’d never been to Belgium before, but I had a friend who visited last summer that absolutely adored the place, so I knew I had to visit if given the opportunity.

The first thing I have to say about this place, is, bring a damn umbrella. It didn’t rain on my first day, but it poured BUCKETS [after I had already styled my hair all cute to get a nice picture] so I walked around with a hat, gloves, scarf, raincoat on, but no umbrella, leaving the entire contents of my backpack soaking. Thank goodness it was my last day and I could allow my backpack to dry once I got home later that evening.

I’ve mentioned in other explore posts that I love free tours in big cities. Brussels was no exception. In Brussels, the city is divided into two parts: the upper city and the lower city. Therefore, Brussels has two free tours that run at different times of the day. The lower city is offered in the morning and the upper city is offered in the afternoon. I, of course, did both tours. The two tours combined offered everything I wanted to see in Brussels minus like two things which were kind of outside of the city, so I knew I had to do the tours. The tour guides were great, I learned a lot, and saw so many beautiful sights and got ideas for more places to go, so all in all, some pretty great tours.

If you visit Belgium, prepare to walk. Not only is the city on a damn hill but there is so much to see and it is spread OUT. Unlike some other cities like Sofia and Thessaloniki, which are cities that are in pretty close quarters, Brussels is very much all over the place which made me sure to get about 50,000 steps over the weekend. I definitely recommend gym shoes or at least shoes that you know you can do a lot of walking in. I wore some booties that I wear almost every day to school so I knew they were broken in and wouldn’t get blisters or have tired feet. Also, there are TON of beautiful parks in Brussels that you HAVE to visit. Lots of greenery, statues, fountains, and some very weird and interesting birds make for the perfect break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Belgium is known for its Belgian waffles and let me tell you, I have been so sad that I’m vegan for the sole reason of not being able to try these traditional delicious foods that everyone raves about. However, I managed to find a VEGAN, yes VEGAN, Belgian waffle restaurant and I almost cried. I knew I had to make a visit and ethically try a Belgian waffle in their home of Belgium. If I return to Brussels, I will be making another trip to #VEGANWAF. When I tell you, this was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my entire life, I’m not lying. I got one waffle [more than enough] covered in chocolate sauce. There’s something about a warm waffle and warm chocolate sauce after just coming out of the pouring rain that really just… hits different. Also, the man who worked at the place was such an angel [and thought I was from the UK for some reason] and we chatted about Greece, summer, and Brussels while I enjoyed my delicious waffle.

This is something I’m soo NOT proud of. When I’m abroad I like to eat at traditional food and drink locations and try new things. However, I’ve been missing home, I really have. And sometimes when I’m homesick, I go to Starbucks. There’s something about an after-school Starbucks run with my little sister for a lemonade with no ice and a black tea lemonade that gets me reminiscing on my home and summertime and that’s what Starbucks always makes me think of. There are no Starbucks in Greece. However, I found a Starbucks in the train station in Brussels and an almond milk latte and vegan donut were just what the doctor ordered. I immediately didn’t feel homesick at all and was ready to continue traveling. So, if you’re missing home or American coffee, Brussels has you covered.

All in all, Brussels was beautiful. I would definitely recommend taking a visit, eating as many Belgian waffles as you want, and soaking in all that the city has to offer.

Have you ever been to  Belgium? If so, where??

❤ Alicia

Apartment tour

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Something I did way back when [2 and a half years ago] before the apartment life was a dorm tour! I loved getting to share my little home with everyone! Dorm, apartment, house, etc. tours on blogs and YouTube are my absolute favorite because I love seeing where people live and what they do with the space they have. I didn’t do an apartment tour with my last apartment [I might be able to if I still have the pictures I took of it] but I wanted to share my space in Greece.

I live in a studio apartment in a suburb of Thessaloniki known as Kalamaria. My apartment is on the top floor of a five-story apartment building with two apartments per floor. I am the only one currently living on my floor but people have been in and out of the other one for the past few days so I have to assume I will be getting a neighbor at some point shortly.

After unlocking the front door of the building, there is a small lobby area with mail slots, one apartment, a set of stairs, and a sketchy elevator. I take the elevator of course because I’m not trying to walk up five flights of stairs after a long day at school or with two arms full of groceries. If the elevator could hold my two 45-pound suitcases, my backpack, me, and another woman, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

When I get off the elevator, my apartment is on the left side of the platform.

The first thing you see when you walk into my apartment is everything. It’s a studio apartment so it’s very very tiny but it has everything I need. To the left of my door is my mudroom or mud area because obviously in a studio apartment we only have one room and then the bathroom. In this mud area, I keep all my shoes, my two coats, my teaching bag, hats, scarves, gloves, my umbrella as well as purses. There’s also a really nice mirror that I make sure to look in every morning before I leave so that I’m not going out looking a mess.

Right next to the mud area that is my bathroom. The bathroom is also pretty tiny, but it also has everything I need. There’s a toilet, a sink, a shower, and a laundry basket. My favorite part of the bathroom is the little counter underneath the mirror where I keep all the stuff that I use each morning and night like my skincare items, toothbrush, toothpaste, my sinus rinse, etc.

Something I love in homes are kitchens. I love cooking, eating, the homey atmosphere that kitchens bring so having this kitchen is a little bit of a challenge for me because it is so small but like everything else, the apartment is only for three months and it has what I need so I’m making it work. In my kitchen, I have a tiny microwave oven, three stovetop burners, a sink, a mini-fridge with a freezer built in and then a bunch of storage space as well. In the weeks I’ve been here I’ve only eaten out TWICE which means this kitchen is getting a TON of use.

One of my favorite parts of this apartment is my little coffeemaker area. I have a 10-cup coffee pot, a water heater, a toaster, as well as another toaster//Panini maker type thing. It’s rested on this cute little table and under the coffee pot I have coffee, sugar, tea bags, etc. Then underneath there’s a little storage area that I keep extra snacks in as well as my first aid kits.

I sort of have a dining room. In my dining area, I have a very small table with two stools that I really don’t ever use to eat. This table is more of my hub for keeping random stuff so when I go grocery shopping I put my groceries on there, after school, I put my laptop on it to charge, etc. It is still a nice little addition to the apartment and there are some days that I use it to eat dinner or breakfast which makes it nice to have.

Next, we have my closet. On top of my closet are my suitcases. Inside of my closet, I have a top-shelf which is where I keep underwear, bras, socks, and pajamas. I also have a shelf on the bottom and underneath that shelf, I have a vacuum cleaner and a couple sweatshirts that I brought. In the middle of the closet, I have a rack to hang things. When I got the apartment it only had a couple of hangers, so I do have to fold a lot of the clothes I brought and put them on the bottom shelf. I could go out and buy more hangers or ask my Airbnb host for some, but I’ll live with only hanging the necessities.

The next thing is my bed. My bed here is a sofa bed so during the day you can have it as a couch and then at night turn it into a bed however I prefer sleeping on the couch, so I usually just keep it as the sofa.

The balcony is by far my favorite part of the Airbnb because it is so big it’s really great to just sit and watch the sunset and sometimes I can watch the sunrise. I could literally sit out there all day. I work out on the balcony, do homework, lesson plan, etc. it is by far my favorite place and view in all of Greece.

What’s your favorite part of your home?
❤ Alicia

Disconnected

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Hi all and happy thursday. A week ago today, my phone broke. Not sure what happened but it just froze + wouldn’t get to the home screen. I called apple support, verizon + consulted the internet to try and get it fixed to no success. Finally, 2 days later, on Saturday, I made my way to Verizon to get a new phone. During those two days I realized something so profound that I feel not many of us realize: we are so damn dependent on our phones and we can’t do anything without them.

I was fuming that my phone broke at first, I needed to snapchat, text people back, post on Instagram + more. How was I going to make it through a shift at work with no phone????? How would I hang out with my friends with no phone?

I am not going to lie, all day Friday I carried my phone with me. I carried a broken phone in my hand as a security blanket because I did not feel that I  could go without it. Isn’t that pathetic? On Saturday, I went to Columbus for a CHAARG event + didn’t bring my phone because I realized there is literally no point to carrying a $1000 paperweight around with me for 5 hours but it was so weird. You never realize how often you or other people are on their phones until you physically cannot be on your phone. I wanted to take pictures, I wanted to follow new people on Instagram, and I could not. I wanted to mask silent moments in the car with my phone but I could not.

It’s truly comical to me that as I was planning this post that the title that came to me was disconnected. I was in fact not disconnected, not in the slightest. When I had access to wifi aka on campus and in my apartment I had access to my laptop + all my friends. Yet, because i could not have my phone attached to my hip for roughly 48 hours, I felt disconnected. It makes you think, doesn’t it? We’re so reliant on these devices, for everything. From social media, to maps, to a calculator, to email, and everything in between on these pieces of hardware that when they break, we feel incomplete. It blows my mind.

Honestly, it was nice. I wish my phone broke more often [or that I would just leave it at home haha]. I talked a lot more to the people around me. I had good genuine conversations with friends because when they knew I didn’t have a phone, they also stayed off theirs. The CHAARG event was also made more special for me personally because I had no phone. I had to interact with others and be present in the moment which I loved. Yeah I wanted to photograph it and post about it on every social media platform I have, however, it became more special to me, to sit there and let it all soak in.

A guy I hung out with Saturday after my phone was fixed said to me, “I liked it more when your phone was broken.” I was high key crushed. Was I really on my phone that much? It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. Because of this whole ordeal, I want to be more present. I set locks on various apps so I can only be on them for certain amounts of time. I’m paying a lot of attention to my screen time data on my phone and trying to get it to be less and less each day. It’s hard to not be as connected as everyone else and I think it’s normal to feel the need to be on our phones as much as we are because it’s what everyone else is doing. But I’d much rather be having these genuine conversations, reading, writing, getting ahead on work, or doing literally anything else except solely existing on this small screen.

Much Love ❤

Alicia

Finding the good in every day

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Hi all. I’m writing again. 2 DAYS IN A ROW! In the midst of my busy, I’m trying to find time to do the things that bring me joy. I was going to write again last night but once I finally got home, did homework, and got ready for bed… I was exhausted! So, I’ll take what I can get. I have a small break in between 2 meetings and the gym and class so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to write.

I downloaded the app Daylio a while back [you rate your mood for the day and add what you did, notes etc.] and I was looking at my monthly calendar view and realized I don’t have a lot of great days. Most of my days are either meh or bad [their words not mine] and my good days are few and far between. With my relationship with my brain, however, I am less than surprised. On Monday, for this CHAARG challenge, we were challenged to post about 10 things that made us smile that day. It was a damn struggle let me tell you.

I came up with the following:

  1. I did ALL my laundry
  2. I slept in warm clean sheets
  3. I cleaned my room [we’re seeing a trend here… I did a lot of cleaning]
  4. I hit my step goal
  5. I had a delicious smoothie
  6. I taught an entire lesson in Spanish to people who didn’t speak Spanish AND THEY UNDERSTOOD ME
  7. I saw some very positive post-it notes
  8. I looked cute as heck
  9. I can breathe again because I’m not sick anymore
  10. I did the face mask that makes me feel like a snake.

Doing that made me realize that the day wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. Good things happened among what I would label as a ‘bad’ day. There is good in every day. Not to sound like a middle-aged white woman’s kitchen wall, but I want to try and find the good in every day. So, I decided to start using my 5-minute journal again [I won one in a CHAARG giveaway and lasted a whole 5 days :/ ] to reflect on my days and share what the good was. I think it will help my mental health immensely and will help change my mindset to see the good things over the bad that happen in a 24 hour period.

Will I keep up with the 5-minute journal? Only time will tell. Will I make a conscious effort to remember the good that happened to me in the day when filling out my daylio entry? Absolutely. Here’s to finding the good in every day.

A good thing that’s happened today, you may ask? I ran into one of my favorite people, Sam, during a break we both had + we got to sit and chat for about 20 minutes :’)

Much Love,

Alicia ❤

Long time, no write

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Hi all, I hope you all haven’t forgotten about me. The last time I wrote [besides essays for class] was 138 days ago. August 14th to be precise. I hadn’t started my junior year of college, I hadn’t started my first semester on CHAARG exec, I hadn’t been promoted at work, I hadn’t dyed my hair, I hadn’t changed my major [more on that later]. I hadn’t done so many things 136 days ago.

I’ve been sitting at my computer over the past few days, pondering on what to say. Why haven’t I written anything in 136 days? Why have I rarely even logged onto WordPress in these last 136 days? Why haven’t I had any motivation or longing to write?

While I don’t know the answers to those questions, I do know I’ve been pretty miserable this semester. From school, to CHAARG, to my other orgs on campus, to work, to pretty much every other aspect of my life, has been miserable.

As I’m sure you all know by now, I put far too much on my plate. I take on every activity, every class, every extracurricular, every new position that I can. I try to do it all. I’ve exhausted myself. I could not find time to write this past semester because I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. When I wasn’t at school, a student org meeting, or work, I was studying, eating, showering, or sleeping.

This semester was rough, I’ll give myself that, but next semester with a new promotion at work, and more classes, along with all of my previous commitments… how am I to handle it? Over the past few months, I’ve realized on very large thing: there aren’t enough hours in a day.

I pride myself on being busy, on filling up my planner so I have to allocate time for working out, eating, showering, etc. Why do I do this? I can’t do everything in the world and still have time for my absolute favorite thing in the world: curling up in my bed at night and doing nothing; ie. staring at my phone or reading a good book. I need to start prioritizing my time and prioritizing what I do with my time and I need to do it fast before I exhaust myself next semester as well.

2019 is in two days. I don’t want to set a million resolutions for 2019. I want to set one: follow through. I am notorious for starting things. A new school, a new major, a new job, a new application, a new blog, a new journal, etc. Yet, I can never seem to finish these things I start. I love doing SO many things but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do everything. In 2019 I want to follow through. I want to start [or continue] things that I am passionate about and I want to follow through with those things. I need to leave things less important to me in 2018 and bring what is vital to me into 2019.

I’ve got a few more posts of life updates, year wrap-ups, etc. on my to do list before the year’s end. I just wanted to make this to show you guys I’m not done with my blog, I’m not done with my writing. I just had to take a few months to really realize what was important to me and how to keep it in my life.

Much love,

Alicia

Back to school series: apartment packing list

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Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday! If you’ve been a follower for the last year or so, you may remember that I made a Back to School series last August. I got really positive feedback from it so I’ve decided to do it again this year!!! Let’s get started with it!

I am officially moved into my apartment at school + I’m very excited! Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I am living with 3 girls I do not know, all from other countries. One of them has brought her dad to stay for about 2 weeks + removed the furniture last night (unsure why) so I’m just trying to stick to my own schedule and live my own life until school starts.

So, from the title of this post you know I’m not sharing a tour of my apartment today (if I do one it will probably just be of my room) because it’s not fully finished, but it is a packing list for apartments! I definitely forgot some things and I brought things I for sure don’t need. Also, a ton of girls (freshmen) have no clue what to pack but with 22938 different packing lists available for freshmen, I figured I would make one for people in apartments because there are far fewer lists to get inspiration from but a lot more things to get! So, here is this artsy list of what to pack for an apartment (or at least what’s working for me).

Is there anything I’m forgetting or anything on this list that doesn’t need to be?

❤ Alicia ❤

August intentions

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Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday!! I wrote this post last week and totally forgot about it! I head back to school in 3 days + I’m SO excited!!! As I prepare for the school year to begin, I have a lot to do + I’m putting everything on my intentions list for August. Here they are!

  1. Pack for school // I’m about half way done with this and after another load of laundry or two + some final purchases, I should be done soon!
  2. Make my apartment homey // I have been doing a bit of DIY (+ buying cute things) to get my apartment feeling like it’s all mine
  3. Prep my planner // I just got new pens + markers yesterday so I’M PUMPED to get my planner ready for this semester
  4. Develop my school routine // I’m getting back to school 2 weeks before school starts so I have plenty of time to get my workout, work, school, sleep, etc. schedules down pact.
  5. Work out 5-6 days a week // This is part of my school routine + 2 of those are already covered with CHAARG!!!
  6. Eat only things that make my body feel good // I’ve been having more stomach problems lately so I’m going to be doing a sort of experiment with foods I eat to see what is bothering my stomach
  7. Conquer my first week of school // Junior year here I come!
  8. Make some new recipes // I actually just tried a new one today (Chocolate Cherry energy bites… SO MUCH YUM) so I’m definitely ahead of the game!
  9. Start meal planning + prepping // With 6 classes MWF, eating good foods is going to take some prepping so every weekend I’m going to prep + plan my meals so I am eating healthy foods ++ enough of them

What are your intentions for the month?

❤ Alicia ❤