Inspiration Sunday: October 21

Happy Sunday! I’ve been awake since nearly 3am (Forrest being put to bed by a babysitter really threw him off his schedule), so I decided to sit down and write this post. It’s one of those days where I feel like writing a bunch of posts at once, but let’s see if I actually get the time to dedicate to it!

Just like yesterday’s Things I Love post, this will be a bit of a different Inspiration. Because, well, it was my birthday yesterday! Danny and I went shopping yesterday; I wanted to get some birthday things, he was buying fish for his classroom (that seems like a weird trade off), and we wanted to go to lunch. I thought I’d share a few things I’m doing to help me take better care of myself, plus my birthday goodies.

Birthday Goodies

I had a 20% off coupon for Ulta; if you don’t get Ulta coupons, call their customer service ASAP and get signed up to receive them. (They’ll also send you the most recent one.) The awesome thing about the twice yearly 20% off everything coupons is that they work on prestige brands. So I got the Gingerbread Spice palette and the lipstick set for $60. I’ll have reviews of these coming this week, so stay tuned. I also went to Sephora and got my birthday gift; I picked the BIte Beauty gift because I love the Bite lip balm (and they’re always sold out of it at my store). I always feel bad just getting my free gift, so I bought two little Sephora overnight masks. I’ll review those soon as well!

About a week ago, Danny gave me my birthday gift early; he got me a set of tarot cards, as well as a book on witchcraft, because I told him I wanted to learn more about the tarot. I love it so much; it’s been really fun to do little readings every day and learn my deck.

My last birthday gift to myself was this. I’ve been wanting to try these L’Oreal Pure Clay Masks because they’re everywhere on Instagram. However, they’re $12 at my local Wal-Mart and that’s a little bit expensive for a drugstore brand mask that isn’t even cruelty free! However, my local TJ Maxx and Marshall’s has a TON of them for $3.99. So if you’ve been wanting to try them, check first there! I’ll also have a review of these coming these week, so stay tuned.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt like I have so much stuff to review! It feels really nice!

So I’m Taking a Selfie A Day

Hi, I only pose with my hand under my chin.

Anyway, I decided yesterday that I was going to try to take a selfie a day. I find that I go days and days and days without taking photos of myself. I tend to avoid it because I don’t ever feel super great about myself; I’m usually running around and just trying to get stuff done. So the idea of stopping and paying attention to how I look takes a little bit more effort. I think it’s worth it though. Here are my first two! (I’m wearing Too Faced Hot Buttered Rum from the Christmas set in the left photo; and I’m wearing Wet’n’Wild Rebel Rose on the right.)

How’s your Sunday going?

Inspiration Sunday: October 14

Welcome to Inspiration Sunday! I used to this posts year-round on my blog, almost 6 years ago, but gradually stopped when I started making my blog less of a diary and more of a, well, blog. However, I like to do them throughout Blogtober because they are a nice break from having to write content that requires a little more thought and research.

You can read all my Inspiration Sunday posts from last Blogtober here. Without further ado, let’s hope right back into Inspiration Sunday!

1. Making Fall Memories

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A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on Oct 1, 2018 at 8:10pm PDT

One of my best Fall memories is attending a birthday party for one of my best friend’s at a local pumpkin patch. I remember it being dark when my mom came to get me and I got a goodie bag that was in one of those shiny, mylar bags that was shaped like a witch’s head. The whole ride home I babbled on and on and on to my mom about the pumpkin patch, the games we played. I don’t remember any of it, but I do remember how excited I was (and realistically, as a parent now, how overtired I was).

I think about that every time I take Forrest somewhere to do something new. At 3, he’s starting to form more solid, long-lasting memories. He remembers when he hurt his arm in April, for example. And he remembers our trip to Idaho in July. But he doesn’t remember Christmas last year. It’s funny to think he’s building his lifelong memories of Fall right now and, honestly, as someone who loves Fall… I hope I’m building good ones for him.

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A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on Oct 6, 2018 at 9:28pm PDT

2. Really, Really Good Tea

One of my first Blogtober posts was about tea and I actually found two teas I mentioned at the grocery store last week. For the past 3 years, I’ve been on, essentially, a coffee bender. I’m 100% about coffee 100% of the time when I used to be exclusively a tea drinker. However, in the past few weeks, I’ve been drinking more and more and more tea—and turning to it over coffee in the afternoon. Sometimes, you just need to be inspired and honestly, Salted Caramel Chai is a great way to be inspired.

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A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on Oct 8, 2018 at 7:15pm PDT

3. Comfort

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A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on Sep 24, 2018 at 9:15pm PDT

There is something about Fall that makes me just want to… be comfortable. To wear big sweaters. To wear my favorite wool socks. To drink a lot of warm beverages while watching my favorite, familiar movies. I don’t want to wear high heels or tight clothes. But I’ve realized lately that sometimes I behave in ways that avoid making me uncomfortable. I don’t stretch myself in my writing, because I’m comfortable where I am and I’m “good enough”—to try more makes me uncomfortable. But sometimes, being uncomfortable can be the best thing for us. Fall is a great season, because it reminds us that things change; we can’t live in Summer forever, the leaves have to turn so that we can have Summer again. So as much as Fall makes me want to be comfortable, I’ve been trying to find ways to actively move out of my comfort zone.

Sunday Inspiration: October 22

Wow, another Inspiration Sunday! I skipped two Sundays in Blogtober in order to post some sponsored reviews, so I've done less of these than I expected to. However, I have a lot of things I want to share this week. So let's jump right in! 

Imagine how different the world would be if we just believed women.

— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) October 10, 2017

"now that I have a daughter I have learned finally that women are people, please clap"

— Jessica Luther (@scATX) October 10, 2017

Unfortunately, over the last month, a lot of stories about sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood (and honestly, most professions) has been coming out. I'm a big believer in putting money where my mouth is: if I say I abhor animal abuse, I have to stop using products that test on animals; if I say I abhor child abuse, I cannot watch Woody Allen movies; and if I say I will not support the abuse of women, I cannot watch movies made by people (or starring people) who abuse women, like Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp. I encourage everyone to think before they pay money to watch movies: are these people you want to support? If not, don't give them your hard earned cash. 

I'm not talking about World Mental Health Day, really. Mostly because I don't want to. And that's the key. We don't have to talk about our mental health issues, but we need to be able to feel that we can if we want to.

— misery magnet (@ElenaBjxrn) October 10, 2017

World Mental Health Day was earlier in October--and it's always a day that I really struggle with. I am relatively open about my mental health. I suffer from severe anxiety, sometimes so bad that I manifest physical symptoms like dry mouth and eye twitch. Specifically, in the last few months, I've been having panic attacks nearly daily. However, there are some things I just don't want to share; and seeing the above tweet reminded me that... I don't have to share. I am under no obligation to make myself a figure for mental health just because I happen to struggle with my mental health. Talking about it is a privilege that I happen to have, because I've never been made to feel like I was inadequate for it (although certainly some people don't know how to deal with how high strung I am); what I want for World Mental Health is that everyone feels like they can talk about mental health, but they don't have to. 

#612 Purrfect by mayblooms featuring Miya

For my last item, let's talk about how cute this outfit is. Does anyone remember when everyone had those black flats that looked like cats around 2012? Those were the hip fashion blogging shoe. Oh and the over-the-knee tights that looked like cats too! I am not a fan of cats, but I inexplicably love clothes with cats on them; it's so kitschy and funny to me! I'm on the hunt for a pair of cat shoes now.