Tag: birthday girl

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Fabulous living

On Turning 26

Hello All!

Happy Wednesday! I can’t believe we are at the end of May already!? Where has the month gone…time truly needs to slow down.

Over the weekend and on Monday we celebrated Memorial Day, although I had to work, it was still nice to get family time and remember all those who served our country.

Memorial Day spread

Today is my birthday and while I will be working, I am looking forward to incorporating some celebrations throughout the day. I’ll be getting my free birthday drink from Starbucks, enjoying dinner with my family and then enjoying some of my favorite hobbies on my day off. Nothing too exciting but doing some of my favorite things that bring me JOY! Kendra Adachi aka The Lazy Genius has a podcast episode about the importance of celebrating your birthday and planning it the way you want to enjoy it. You can listen to it here.

Although I love a good surprise, I do think it’s sometimes better to plan your own activity or dinner so you know you will enjoy it. 

I truly love celebrating birthdays, holidays, and all the special occasions, whether it’s a graduation, promotion, or life event. I think it’s important that we acknowledge these milestones in our lives even if we don’t feel like making a big deal out of it. 

Celebrating 25!

As I turn 26, I definitely feel like I am more adult than young adult. When I turned 23, I felt like I made the switch from young adult to adult and since then, I feel I have only continued to grow and mature from there. Over the past few years, I have become the most comfortable in my own skin and I have been confident in myself in the decisions I have made. I really got into a comfortable pattern and routine of work, family time, spending time with friends and growing in my relationship with my boyfriend. I found new hobbies that brought me joy like growing a garden, running, reading, and learning piano.

As much as I love the life I have created and nurtured, I know that we all need to go through some change and growing pains in our lives. 26 is going to be that year for me. I have some big life changes coming in the next year or so, which is exciting but also terrifying. As someone who loves and thrives off a routine, change is not easy for me, but I know it’s necessary for growth. In the times of uncertainty, I have to remind myself to stay true to who I am. In the scary times, I try to put things in perspective and realize change is temporary and we adjust and overcome whatever adversity we are facing. 

25 was such a good year for me in regards to happiness, adventures, career growth, memories, and trying new things. It was by far one of my most memorable years. I am excited to see what 26 brings, although, change can be scary, it’s also where we learn the most about ourselves.

Here’s to another year around the sun, a year of happiness, friendship, family, love, growth, change and embracing the JOY found in every day. 

26, I’m ready for you!

Categories
Fabulous living

Twenty-Five

Twenty-five, a quarter of a century, a full blown adult.

These are a few of the things that have been running through my mind over the last few weeks. 

Let me back up, I turn 25 next week and it’s a milestone birthday filled with all the emotions. Excitement, anticipation, nostalgia, and a bit of fear too. 

Growing up, I always thought when you turned 25, you were officially an adult. No longer a child, teenager, or even young adult, but a full-fledged adult, and you had to have it all figured out.

Spoiler alert, I’m almost 25 and I don’t have it all figured out and I’m okay with that, in fact, I’m glad I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve learned you don’t have to have it all sorted out quite yet.

Your twenties are all about growing and learning and taking risks and seeing where life takes you. My first half of my twenties were filled with graduating college, moving back home, starting a career, going through a pandemic, getting promoted, making new friends and meeting my boyfriend, that’s a lot of change for five years.

But, let me let you in on a secret, I have loved every bit of it, even the stressful days or the moments filled with unknowns. I’ve learned so much about myself and from those around me and I’m so happy where I am today. I’ve learned to savor every moment spent with family, whether it’s a major holiday or a Tuesday night dinner (just ask any of my brothers, I always comment how special it is that we are all together-and it drives them nuts.) I’ve also learned to be open to new opportunities, but to trust my gut and how it’s okay to say no to things if they don’t feel right. I’ve learned friendship works both ways and some friendships aren’t meant to last forever, some are only meant for a season, while others are forever.

Most importantly, I’ve learned to savor and love the little things in life, whether it’s a morning walk, a coffee with a friend or even going through an evening routine. The little things in life are often the things you will remember the most.

Now as I embark on the second half of my twenties, I am eager to continue to see how I can grow more and what things I can learn about myself. I’m also interested to see where I will be at age 30. Will I be married? have children? Living in the same city? So much can change in five years, but I also now so many things will still be the same. I know I will have a loving family by my side, I know I will have supportive friends and a caring boyfriend. I’m excited to see where these next few years will take me and how I will grow and change. I always like reflecting as big milestones come and go to see how far I have come and what I’ve learned. 

As far as what this year brings, I don’t have any big goals for this next year, I want to keep doing what I’m doing. I want to keep working hard at my job, putting family and relationships first, making sure I’m taking care of my body and self with different hobbies and I want to make sure I’m taking every opportunity available.  Because my birthday falls in May, I’m halfway through my 2023 New Year’s Resolutions and so far they have been going well, definitely room for improvement in some areas, but I have seen progress in other realms.

My birthday falls on Memorial Day and I’ll be working so I’m not quite sure what the day will hold, but I’m excited for what year 25 will bring!

Here’s to another year! Happy Birthday to Me!

Categories
Fabulous living

Looking Towards 24

Hey guys!

Happy Wednesday!

I hope you are having a good week. This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and if always feels like to official start of summer to me and I can’t wait! In good news, these past few weeks, I’ve been treated to lots of sunshine and 70 degrees days so it feels like I got a jumpstart to summer.

Nothing better than clear skies and spring walks

Every year since I started my blog in 2017, I always done a birthday/reflection post. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed looking back to see how far I’ve come and what my goals or aspirations were at different points in my life. It’s interesting to see what I wanted to accomplish at 19 compared to 23.

In case you missed any of them, you can find my past birthday posts here.

20

21

22

23

Now, it’s time for 24. I don’t know if you felt this way when you turned 24, but to me, 24 feels like “adult-adult”. For most people, they have graduated college, maybe even gone to grad school, started a job, maybe in a relationship, and have a game plan for the direction they want their life to take. I know this is not the case for everyone and everyone’s paths are different but from my experience and those close to me, we are all kind of in the same boat right now at 24. 

As I embark on 24, there’s a few things that have stood out to me that I’ve learned over the past year that have really made a difference and there’s a few things I want incorporate in my life this next year.

Things I’ve learned in year 23

-Sleep is so important. This may seem really silly and overrated, but this past year I’ve really done a good job at making sleep a priority in my life. In college and right after I graduated college, sleep wasn’t always at the top of my mind. I had clubs to be a part of, meetings to go to, papers to write etc. and in college and I would stay up late to get everything done and still wake up at my regular time to go to the gym first thing in the morning or get things done before I started my day. I loved everything I was involved in, but it was taking a toll on my body. I was still getting a decent amount if sleep but it wasn’t always consistent and I wanted to change that.

A look at the Sleep Tracker app

This past year, I’ve done a much better job at getting consistent sleep and winding down more at night and having a good evening routine, this especially helps when I work weird hours. As a result, I feel better, more alert, and more energized. Even just getting an extra hour or two of sleep a night makes a big difference. I’ve also been tracking my sleep which shows if I really got a good night sleep or not, and for that I use the sleep tracker app, I’ve used it for a few years now and I like how it tracks your sleep and functions as an alarm. I also rely on the Health app in my iPhone too. This past year I’ve learned how much sleep helps your mental health too. I know this isn’t news to many, but for me, this made a big difference this past year.

And the Health app on my iPhone.

-Another thing I’ve learned a lot over this past year is to make a point to make plans whether it’s with family or friends or even activities. Yes, being spontaneous is fun, but when you make a point to see people or do things, it shows that level of commitment to your friends and yourself. This past year, I’ve really made an effort with friends to set up monthly dinner dates, or walks, or even facetime calls, even if things come up and we have to adjust, knowing you have something set-up gives you something to look forward too. Plus, we all can get wrapped up with our lives between work and family and it’s always good to remind ourselves to carve time out for ourselves. 

A few months back, my mom and I made a point to see an immersive Van Gogh exhibit in Pittsburgh and I’m so glad we did.
Such a cool experience

Goals for 24

-Remember how I said how it’s good to have a plan? This year, I want to be open to more spontaneous trips or activities. I’m a girl who LOVES a routine and schedule, but this year I want to TRY to let go of the routine just a bit and be more open to changing the plan, if it means having fun or doing different things or creating memories. This is going to be a real challenge for me, but I have found when I do let go of the routine and step out of my comfort zone, it’s always worth it. 

Being spontaneous can be as simple as getting ice cream after work.

– Lastly, I want to pick up a new hobby or get involved more in my community. I don’t know what I want to do yet, but over the past few years, I’ve witnessed so many great things in the community that I want to become more involved. As far as hobbies go, mine are pretty limited, I LOVE reading and always have a book on me, and I really enjoy exercising whether it’s in the form of the gym or walking or yoga, and then my blog. I’m looking to see what other things I can learn or try this year, or at least attempt. 

Over the past five years, it’s been great to see how much I have grown and changed from year to year, that’s one of my favorite things about my blog, having a digital documentation of my life over some pretty crucial years. Here’s to a new year and new memories. I can’t wait to see what 24 has in store for me!

Here’s to 24!