Style Stratigi

A Life, Style & Beauty Blog

Categories: Life

Nice to See You Here!

Very nice to see you here! The stats for clicks on my blog driven by traffic from Instagram are up 87% this past week alone! The highest increase in one week I’ve ever had since Style Strat’s inception. However, this is not happening for reasons I would want to be recognized, such as posting more consistently, having a solid blog/brand/business plan, nor because I’m actively working through my fear of being seen by creating content that I’m very proud to share and spread the word. Instead, it’s because my account was hacked and whoever has access to my page is scamming my friends, followers & the people of my community with crypto-currency scams!!!

It happened so fast, it happened so very unassumingly, and it happened at midnight while on vacation. I’ve been sick to my stomach thinking of all the time and energy I’ve spent cultivating a community I love, and at the time of this post, we are still locked out. Great plot twist, stay tuned for what’s next.

Since you’ve finally arrived, it’s so nice to see you here! Welcome to Style Stratigi!

Categories: Life

10 Tips for a Stress Free Move

Disclaimer: * This is a sponsored post *

Moving is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life! Packing up all your belongings and trying to keep it all straight while relocating can be super crazy! Add kids and/or pets into the mix and it’s total chaos.

I never moved growing up, and while I’ve only moved a handful of times in my adult life, I never had much more than bedroom furniture to relocate. That is, until I got married and lived in a 4 story townhome. My husband (then, fiance) and I moved in together in 2020, and spent 2 years completely furnishing our home together. Which made our move this summer one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done!

Moving Day

Experience is the best teacher and I took as much precaution as I could to be organized when moving into our current home. Since we just moved last week, I thought it would be helpful to share my top 10 moving tips for a stress free move! 

1. Start Small

Simply starting is truly the hardest part. You know deep down it’s such a massive project and it can be unbelievably intimidating. *Cue the procrastination!*

My advice is to just start! Make a list. Make a phone call. Order some moving supplies. Find some boxes. Clean out a drawer. Just do something!

This usually will get things “moving” and motivate you to do more! It doesn’t have to be huge, you just have to start! 

2. Choose 1 Thing Per Day

Going along with my last point of starting small, my goal when I started working on the house was to do one task per day that had to do with moving.

Whether it was just one shelf, one cabinet, one drawer. Basically, whatever I had time for! This, of course, led to one dresser and eventually one closet! 

On days I had time, I could work through a whole room. On days I had zero time, I would clean out one drawer while I ate breakfast. But I still did one thing a day – Progress is progress! 

3. Start WAY Before You Think You Need To

This project is going to take a while. It’s not too early to start, trust me! If you’re putting your house up for sale or moving even in a few months, get started now. 

When it gets closer to the move, you’ll already feel like you have to take a month off of work because there’s so much to do.

There is plenty you can do now to prepare: Start taking down family pictures and home decor. Start packing seasonal items and clothing. Start packing baby items that you know you’re not ready to give away yet but you’re not using currently. You catch my drift. 

Start with things you don’t need in the near future. You’ll be surprised how much you can get done by focusing on those categories. 

4. Use Plastic Wrap

Plastic wrap anything you can when packing. Think of how furniture and other random items are packaged from factory to the store. They’re wrapped together with plastic wrap! 

I used plastic wrap just as much as I used boxes in our last move.

Instead of packing the clothes in our dresser drawers away in boxes, simply remove them from the dresser and wrap them with plastic wrap! When we got to the new house we just cut the plastic wrap off and slid the drawers back in. Super easy and you can do this with SO many things!

Every toy basket or box that doesn’t have a lid, just wrap! Leave the handles out if it has any and you’ve got yourself an enclosed basket! Too many “odd” items to throw in a box? Wrap several random items together to be their own unit that is protected and easy to carry.

For our dining room table, we took the legs off and wrapped them together as one “set”. Then we wrapped the set of legs underneath the table itself as one large unit. 

Use plastic wrap!!

5. Cut Triangles in Sides of the Boxes

Have you ever been carrying a box and said the words “it’s not heavy… it’s just awkward to carry!” That is probably because your box didn’t have handles.

When you’re packing a moving box, before you put anything in it, take your scissors or box cutter and slice a triangle on two opposite sides. Ta Da! …Handles! 

This may sound like a silly suggestion… but I can’t tell you how much it makes a difference when moving and how many people who helped us commented on them too! 

Which leads me to the next point…

6. Get Help

I know it can be hard to ask for help but when it comes to major life changes like deaths, weddings, moving or having a baby… asking for help is a valiant act of self-love! You’ll not only need help loading and unloading, but also with packing and cleaning! (Don’t forget someone to help with kiddos and pets!)

If you’re worried about asking too much of people, I suggest two crews: one to load the truck at the old house and another to unload at the new. That way, no one gets too worn out or “imposed upon”. 

If you can swing it, I strongly suggest hiring a company to help you move. Even if it’s just for part of the move. Some moving companies will pack everything for you, and then load/unload everything for you as well. (Now that’s the TOTAL package!) But if you’re like us and have help already, you may need them for just one item or only part of the move.

For example, we hired a moving company for our recent move since we were moving heavy bedroom furniture down 3 flights of stairs. They helped move all of our large furniture to a storage unit, while we lived with my in-laws during our house-hunting efforts, and then moved all of the furniture and boxes from our unit into our new home. Hiring movers is a GREAT investment!

Image: ICANN Moving Company

ICANN Moving Company in Texas offers a variety of stress free services for you which can help you and your family. I love that they want to help move even the heaviest of furniture including pool tables, beds and more. They also offer all sorts of other moving help for those moving to Tyler, Texas or anywhere in the state!

7. Master List

Here’s the real stuff. Make. A. Master. List!
This is probably the most important thing in your move besides having a game plan of packing your things.

Many people go “old school” and write on the sides of the boxes the contents of the box.  But how will that be helpful if you can’t remember which room or which box contained that specific item?
When we moved to our current house, I had a master list of each box. Every time I packed a box, I wrote a number on it and which room it would go to at the new house. On my master list, (a good old fashion legal pad) I would write the box number, the room it was headed to, and then list the contents.
This way, if I was searching for a specific item, I could skim through my list by room, find the item and the corresponding number on the side of the box. Total game changer! 

This made unpacking a breeze as well! I knew which boxes carried the important items and which boxes could wait. After such an organized move, I will never go back to the old ways of writing a list on the side of the box! Not only is it more organized, it also is more secure. By writing only a number and the room on the side of the box, it keeps people from being tempted to rummage or even steal the box after reading the contents! 

For peace of mind and even further organization, you can put your master list on a Google spreadsheet. This way you can access it on several different devices, you’ll never lose it, AND you can search for a specific word so much easier than flipping through a thousand pages of handwritten notes.

So next time you move, make a master list! 

8. Make Four Piles

When you’re cleaning out those dressers and closets, have four different piles :

  • Items for Donation
  • Items for trash
  • Items ready to move
  • Items needed until the move

Grab several trash bags along with some tubs and/or moving boxes. Make one of your trash bags for things you’re just going to toss altogether. Make a trash bag to give away to Goodwill or wherever you choose to donate. In the tubs and boxes, pack away whatever is ready to move and keep out the things that will still be needed until you move.

9. Find a Place to Stay

This one isn’t always possible, but if you can, find somewhere to stay at least during moving week. Even if for just a couple nights. 

In our particular situation, we lived with my in-laws for 2 months after our lease ended so we could take our time looking for a house. But staying with my husband’s folks several days before and after closing was a tremendous help!! If you’re moving from one house to another, staying somewhere can give you the ability to use your old house like a storage locker. You don’t have to worry about having a functioning kitchen or bedroom and dismantled beds/furniture can be moved as close to the front door as possible. By the time moving day rolls around, no one has to tear anything down or pack anything up! 

Pack a bag for the week and live out it as if you were out of town. 

If you don’t have friends or family you can stay with, (and you don’t have pets) stay in a hotel for a few nights or an AirBnB! This will make your moving days go so much quicker and give you a nice, clean, (functioning) space to come “home” to at the end of a long day.

10. Take Breaks! 

Lastly, this is a given. Take lots of much-needed breaks! Find ways to take breaks not only throughout the moving day itself, but the whole process itself. This is one of those projects that can be (and during the week or two of closing and the move itself -will be!) all consuming. 

Do your best to live your life as normally as possible while you’re cleaning out those cabinets and closets. But, take a break! Go out to eat, grab a drink in the evenings with friends, watch a movie at home, take a bath. This is stressful stuff, and self-care is a MUST! So stay hydrated, stay nourished & stay well-rested. Be sure to “de-stress”, relax and celebrate a bit after accomplishing tasks (no matter how big or small) during the day.

You can do this! 

Categories: Beauty, Life, Style, Wellness

Style Stratigi Turns 1 🎉

Today we are celebrating a big milestone at Style Strat because we are turning ONE!!

It’s been a long year of learning, growing & glowing; in many ways unexpected when I started this blog and Youtube channel last year.

I knew there would be challenges, but as I took this creative pursuit more seriously, insecurities and limiting beliefs from my past started coming up. In 2021, I was finally fed up with being the only thing holding me back in this life! I was tired of being too afraid to show up consistently and tired of letting my emotions get in the way.

I learned that I was so focused on the one person that might throw tomatoes at me rather than enjoy the applause from the rest of the crowd. I couldn’t hear the many actually cheering on & admiring because I was too afraid of hearing the boos.

I learned that the worst scenarios, for my life & my brand, are mostly made up in my head! And I realized that I was so used to believing the lies from this coping mechanism learned from traumatic experiences of the past.

I learned to remind myself – daily – of all the reasons why I am SO worthy, enough & deserving!
I learned to show up for myself consistently, even if I was feeling insecure or tired that day.

I learned to start counting the things that I DID accomplish versus getting hung up on what I didn’t do.
For example, in the last year, I didn’t post any videos to my Youtube channel… but I DID :

  • Start my Channel
  • Start my blog
    • Create & install custom template on my own
  • Create my own logo
  • Learn how to create graphics on Canva
  • Start writing consistently
  • Become more comfortable with taking & editing short video content

I learned to start trusting my intuition for what I want to share and how I want to show up for my brand, my community, and my LIFE! I realized that I was afraid to do things if they weren’t perfect and started giving myself more grace for not knowing and gave myself permission to just DO.

This was a BIG year for my brand, my business, my site and my channel – but most especially for me. There were lots of hard days, LOTS of uncertain days, and tons of messy action. I am so grateful for this journey the past year, and I can’t wait to see where we go!

Happy Birthday, Style Strat 💗

Categories: Life, Wellness

10 Things To Do To Start Your Year

The first of the year is an extremely exciting time, full of hope and anticipation for the next 12 months. It’s also full of everything wanting your attention all at once! New Year’s Resolutions, Goals, Visions, Hopes, Dreams, etc!

I would be bold-face lying to you right here if I didn’t say it overwhelms the heck out of me each year. Which I had no idea til last year. I know so many of us woke up to a lot of things in 2020. Personally, I realized that just because it’s a new year on the calendar, doesn’t mean there won’t be more challenges. It means there will be new ones, and with that, new opportunities to level up. I realized that there were 12 more months ahead of me; and I didn’t have to do everything all at once as soon as the clock strikes 12:01 on January 1st.

I know the feeling of writing down your resolutions and hitting the ground running, pushing hard into your goals and by day 6, I’m reconsidering the entire year! I was tired of feeling like a failure before the year even started. Rest assured, this doesn’t mean you have to completely throw January to the wayside. Here are some small things you can do to start your year off on the right foot, for whenever you want to ‘officially’ start the year.

How I like to start my year in Alignment

  1. Declutter, Detox & Clean
    • I’m talking mind, body, soul!
    • Take a trash bag around the house (*and your car!*) and get rid of stuff taking up your precious space – junk, papers, receipts, water bottles, etc.
    • Clean out expired products from your pantry, fridge, medicine cabinets, beauty, makeup & skincare stash.
    • Clear out items from your home & closet that no longer fit the energy of who you are, who you’ve become or where you are going.
    • Unfollow people on social media that no longer align with you. Unfollow accounts that don’t make you feel like the best version of you.
    • Unsubscribe from mailing lists
    • Drink lemon water each day (also helps with overindulgence from the holidays)
  2. Reflect on the past year
    • How did I grow? How can I tell?
  3. Write down goals & visions for the new year
  4. Create a good morning & evening routine
  5. Hack your life
    • What are areas you want to grow in for the new year? Examples : Spiritually, Financially, Creatively, Mentally, Physically?
    • Pick out podcasts & books (hardcopy or audio) to tap into each day!
  6. Schedule a Vacation/Staycation for Sometime this Year
  7. Quit Something. Just Say No.
    • This is the year we start boundaries! Are there commitments you made last year that you didn’t really want to do? Are there things you said yes to last year that no longer align with who you are now?
  8. Simplify Meals & Snacktime
    • Write down a list of at least 10 easy meals that you and your family enjoy.
    • What are some food products & items that you and your family always like to have on hand for meals & snacks?
    • this will help when it comes time to write down grocery lists & for having items on hand when you don’t know what to cook.
  9. Create a weekly prep list to create consistency each week
    • This goes for keeping the house clean & your mental state clear
      • Maybe Saturdays are sheet & linen days where you wash all linens
      • Every Tuesday & Thursday, you set a timer and clear for one hour
  10. REST
    • The holidays were a busy time, take this month to slowly move towards your new year goals
    • Work & Progress you are proud of can only come from a place of rest

✨Clear energy for your goals to become reality✨

You don’t have to do it all and you don’t have to do it all at once! January is a long month, with 11 months left after, to achieve everything you want in the new year.

Perhaps consider January a trial run month to give each of your goals or resolutions some practice? You can start over in February, or March, or next week.. Each new day is a new opportunity to write a new page. Choose you, choose to stay consistent.

xo, Maria

Categories: Life

Happy New Year 2022

Welcome back to Style Stratigi for a brand new year! 2021 already feels far away, but time feels relative when living in the moment.

The first of this year is feeling energetic and magnetic for what’s to come. A rather nice way to feel considering how last year started. Coming off collectively the worst year in recent human history, we knew that lots of healing needed to be done.

Last year was the most transformative year I’ve ever had. I decided to make an effort to meet the root of my emotional triggers and self-sabotaging tendencies and I know so many others decided to do the same and start their own healing journeys. If you are one of them, I hope you are SO proud of yourself because I’m proud of you.

Life doesn’t get easier, you get stronger!

If the last couple of years taught us anything, it’s that adverse situations are a part of life. There will never be a shortage of challenges. Improving your life by simply improving your mindset may sound incredulous, but perhaps if you believe so, your mindset could use improving to believe in the God-created power within you! It’s a simple answer, but very difficult to implement and – if the inner work isn’t done – difficult to maintain.

2021 brought the best memories to my life, but the highs wouldn’t have felt so high without feeling lows. I learned that sitting with the ugly, yucky, low feelings help sitting with the high, fuzzy, exhilarating feelings for much, much longer. I learned that if you don’t give the ‘bad’ feelings the attention they need from you, you won’t be able to feel the ‘good’ feelings as long because all emotions want to be seen and heard.

In 2022,

I’m continuing to cultivate the safe space I learned to create for myself this past year and expand that here on Style Stratigi – a safe space to be yourself, to be authentic, to curate your personal style, to be comfortable expressing yourself through beauty, to care for yourself without guilt or shame.

I look forward to bringing more love and light into the new year, and seeing you around for the ride.

Happy New Year 💗 xo

Categories: Life

Last Minute Gift Guide

This isn’t your typical last minute gift guide. In all honesty – this isn’t your ‘typical BLOGGER/Influencer’ Gift Guide. You’re not going to find a bunch of links to the things you want to buy, because let’s be real – you’re a last minute shopper.

Maybe waiting til the last minute makes you feel alive or perhaps you’re an extremely busy person, all reasons are valid here at the Style Stratigi. Regardless of why you’re just a few days away from Christmas and still have people to check off your list, here are some ways to get your brain jogging on those last minute gifts :

Give an Experience

  • Popcorn, candies & an Amazon Prime gift card for a movie night at home

Give a Pat on the Back

  • a Coffee gift card says “You’re amazing & doing great!”

Give some Alone Time

  • A gift certificate to a Spa or a nice restaurant

Give Self Care

  • slippers, a mug, relaxing tea & an aromatherapy candle

Give Growth

  • A really nice journal & pens that write really well can get anyone to make journaling a daily habit
  • **Bonus : Add a nice note inside the journal to get them started!

Give Festive Wishes

  • Anything Christmas, Holiday or Winter related is always a warm token of the season

Any gift you spend intentional time & thought towards is worthy of your recipient! Don’t create too much of a struggle when trying to find the ‘PERFECT’ gift. I can assure you that perfection doesn’t exist, and it certainly cannot be found within some material object. Instead, spend time considering how you can help someone this season or how your gift can improve their life, not just clutter it.

I also posted a last minute beauty gift idea guide on my Instagram, hope you check it out 😊

xoxo

Categories: Life

Happy Holidays from Style Strat

Hello dears, it’s the holiday season again and pretty soon a BRAND NEW year! Can you believe it? Because I hardly can!

It feels just like a few short months ago we were preparing for a different kind of holiday season, one we had never seen before and yet a full 12 months have gone by. While things feel like they’re back to normal, which is amazing and such a different feeling from what we had last year – it’s also INCREDIBLY EXHAUSTING!

Holiday Season 2020 was spent at HOME. No one was going anywhere! In fact, this time last year half of the world was still in lockdown. Holiday Season 2021 has seen a return of events, parties, festivities and crowds are back in the malls and stores as if we aren’t technically still in a pandemic. It makes me so happy that we are choosing to continue living life even with the circumstances.

However, taking a year off has me rusty. And not just rusty, it takes way more energy for holiday parties, dinners, events and festivities after having NOTHING at all this time last year.

Important reminders for Holiday Season 2021:

  • Perfection does not exist! Always strive to try YOUR best
  • How much I can complete or check off my to-do list does not determine my worth
  • Be intentional! With your time, who you spend it with & when giving gifts
  • Not everyone deserves access to you, be protective of your energy
  • Take time to slow down and enjoy the festive spirit around you

This year, if it feels REALLY hard even if you’re SO thankful for a ‘normal’ holiday season and being able to spend it with family & friends – please don’t be hard on yourself! And at the same time, if you’re anxious (since we’re still in a pandemic) and it exhausts you to decide what you should do – remember to honor yourself & don’t be hard on yourself whatever your decision!

And the best Present for under your tree this year –

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a Gift, which is why we call it the Present ❤️🎁

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from my family to yours,
xoxo Maria

Categories: Life

It’s 11/11, you know what to do!

Seeing multiple numbers, especially repeating 1’s, is a special sign in astrology and numerology. You might not believe in all that, but something about 11/11 feels pretty powerful & magnetic to me.

November is almost halfway through and then only one month left of 2021. By the end of last year, we were giving ourselves a ton of slack for surviving it all. This year feels all sorts of crazy – we’re trying to process last year’s trauma while still in the middle of a pandemic, all while learning to figure out and re-navigate this ‘new’ normal.

I know with the return of normalcy, I’m already seeing a lot of content floating around that this is the time to realign, focus on your goals and to make the most of these last few weeks. But you know what? After the dumpster fire that was 2020, we should really carry over that same energy we had there at the end. Just because we’re ‘back to normal’ come 2022, doesn’t mean you have to burn yourself out around the holidays to accomplish everything before the year’s over! Those patterns are so 2019. There is no rush to accomplish anything before midnight on December 31st. It is also completely valid to use this time for rest, relaxation, reflection & recharge so that you can start 2022 ready to make progress on your goals.

There really is no wrong way. However, no matter how you choose to finish off the year, BE intentional with this time!

Here are my end of 2021 Goals & Intentions :

  • GRATITUDE – thankful for each day to live, enjoy & experience in 2021
  • Hydrate & NOURISH – the drinks pour easy and the sugar intake is high this time of year, but it’s not about how my body looks, this is for how my body FEELS
  • Be Present – enjoy every moment remaining this year
  • Go with the Flow – things tend to not go according to plan around the holidays, know that it’s only temporary
  • Caring for your space is SELF CARE – make space, clear things up, clean, dust, decorate. Taking care of the space you live in will help you take care of the space that you live your entire life in – your body.
  • Prioritize Stillness & Rest – after celebrating the holidays over Zoom, we are ready for in-person festivities. But you don’t have to do it all.
  • Fill your cup first – the more I give, the more I receive.

Reality is yours to create. The holidays and end of year doesn’t have to be a crazy, overwhelming time. In fact, in can be a very enjoyable, peaceful, reflective time. It’s all up to you!

How do you want to finish off this year?

xoxo, Maria

Categories: Life

Just Getting Started

I feel both unfazed & like I’m jolted to reality each time I look at the date. October. Already! A whole quarter of a year passed by and I mostly struggled with allowing myself rest and paid the price of emotional burnout. Finally I woke up one morning after thanking my mind, body & spirit with some peace and was ready to just get started.

This isn’t another ‘Life Update’ post, because I’m at a point where every ‘reason’ as to why I haven’t gotten started yet is actually just an excuse.

Okay, to be honest, I don’t believe that to be entirely true. Whatever happens in your life that throws you off balance is a completely valid reason . Since the last Quarter Update, my life (OUR lives, since I’m a married betch now 🥰) has been a W H I R L W I N D!

Wedding

Having the most amazing time of my life after the most anxious time of my life truly felt like being woken up to a reality better than your wildest dream after being stuck in your worst nightmare.

All of July was chaos – the first two weeks were crazy finalizing our wedding and preparing for our trip. The first week in Greece was jam packed with last minute things to do before our wedding day (many meetings with our priest & even getting chastised! It was a very authentic experience) and just trying to enjoy the fleeting moments.

Our second week, after the wedding, was complete, ABSOLUTE BLISS. I was on such a high. My dopamine & serotonin levels were so overwhelming, I didn’t sleep for like 5 days straight.

First Month as Newly Weds

Anxious thoughts before a wedding are normal. However, I think 2020Pandemic brides developed their own kind of anxiety – the fear of throwing the biggest party of your life & everyone getting sick. We were dead set on our destination wedding in Greece, so the fear of getting it while traveling/there/at the wedding/traveling home was HIGH. By God’s grace, no one got sick and we had the best trip of our lives.

We got back Stateside and had lots of people to celebrate our nuptials with. We had a celebratory dinner at a friend’s house a week after our return and by the following evening, my new husband was running a fever and had chills + body aches. In sickness and in health, indeed.

To add insult to injury, we visited my new in-laws the day after that fateful dinner, and unknowingly spread it to them. Details aside, while it got us down bad for a good few days; it took them a long time to overcome the illness. At one point, both ended up in the Emergency Room and the newly-wed couple moved in for a week to take care of them… It was a crash course in Married Life.

August2021 Never Happened

Honestly… this isn’t the worst thing, because August 2021 would’ve been our first wedding anniversary, thankfully we were too busy on our wedding high & recovering from Covid to notice that the entire month slipped away into a moment of time.

All very valid reasons for a break! Here’s the thing though, burnout can result from many different things. It’s not just from doing too much. It can be from thinking or even feeling too much. And I very much needed rest from all 3 when I returned home. While my mind and body knew it, my spirit was in a state of unrest! I didn’t want to feel the yucky feelings of being somewhere in between. I wanted to know what the next step was. I wanted more but didn’t know which direction to start. And then something happened where we were FORCED to sit and be still.

Just sit & be still.

Rest is scary because the last thing you want is momentum lost just as you start to feel great. But don’t let that hold you back from gifting yourself the rest you crave. Sometimes the hardest part of falling off a routine or losing motivation is the fear of how you’re going to get it back. You’ll never know until you just get started.

Categories: Life, Wellness

How Postponing a Wedding Led me on a Healing Journey

The last 12 months have not been easy for anyone. Think about where you were this time last year. We were in the middle of a pandemic! We still are, but a completely different stage. This time last year, I was in a daily tizzy on what to do about our wedding. The cases here in Texas were on the rise and climbing fast. It was to the point where my family in Greece was concerned about us visiting, let alone the concerns of our traveling guests. We held the faith as best we could and kept on with planning. We still had to get my fiance baptized and gather wedding documents, we didn’t want to stop for something we weren’t really sure of. Then, on July 1st, the European Union closed its borders to American travelers. And well, only a handful of us would’ve been able to get Greek travel papers and we couldn’t have a wedding without the groom!

On July 1st, 2020 we decided to finally pull the plug on the whole thing.

That morning was rough. We had to update everyone and get with our planners for a new game plan. Sure, it was easy, simple – they gave us a couple dates to choose from and we decided on July 24, 2021. Everything was already planned and set for the original August 21st wedding date by the time we decided to postpone. All we had to do was roll everything over to the new date, and wait 11 months. No big deal.

So then why the hell was I SO sad? Like, really, really sad. It was already a tough year, everyone was already going through so much, I had already been crying for 6 weeks straight at that point.

"People are dying from a new illness, the entire world is trying to navigate a pandemic, so many have lost their jobs, people still have their eyes shut to all sorts of systemic injustices in the Land of the Free and you're sad about having to postpone your wedding???"
"Boo hoo. Little Princess is upset because she can't have her little destination wedding. Oh, too good to have your wedding here? You postponed it! You're still having a wedding, what are you crying about?!"

I was so mean to myself and wouldn’t allow myself to feel what I was really feeling. I told myself, “We have a new date, no big deal.” But it was a big deal. “Everything’s planned, we just have to sit back and wait. No worries.” But I was upset! I told myself everything was okay when it actually wasn’t.

After several of my relationships started to implode, I knew that my sadness was not just from postponing the wedding. There were deep wounds that postponing our wedding only poured vinegar on. And I wanted to see where they came from, so I started digging. I decided to go deep and started peeling back layer after layer after layer til I reached the core.

2021 is the year we grow, glow and heal ✨

And I took that sh*t seriously. We quickly learned that just because the calendar has a new date doesn’t mean bad things stop happening. I wanted to take what we learned from our trauma as collective and apply it to my life on a personal level. Mental Wellness became top priority for me – I started meditating, praying and doing yoga immediately upon waking up, created healthy routines and started seeing a therapist.

I made self-love a non-negotiable, daily practice.

As I started being kinder to myself, I started to feel and honor each and every emotion. After invalidating my feelings all my life and learning to deconstruct 3 decades of conditioning, my healing journey was NOT pretty. But it has been the most beautiful experience. I went really deep and found an abundance of love and gratitude for myself and this precious life!

Postponing a wedding is never easy, and certainly not fun. Add in a pandemic, failing relationships and systemic injustice, and I started unraveling at my seams. I knew the sadness wasn’t superficial. I could keep denying how I actually felt or make some changes. No one really talks about the ugly parts of healing, and we can get into that, but let me tell you – it is SO worth it.

xoxo

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Don’t miss out! Subscribe

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.