Good morning, my loves.
I had to have a slow morning today to do a little reset,
to give myself space to do things I've put off,
take care of my mental health, and find some peace in my day.
It's around 9:00 AM, and by this time, I've already fed Togi his breakfast
and took him out a couple times.
Usually I take a nap after feeding Togi at 7:30 AM,
but today I felt energized enough to stay up and make time for self care.
As you can see from this mountain of clothes on my couch,
I've been letting things pile up here and there.
You can always tell from my space, whether I'm feeling on top of things or not.
So clearly you can see how scattered my mind has been lately.
So first things first, I like to reset by decluttering my space.
Like I've said many times in the past, a clear space allows for a clear mind.
I'm not against leaving clothes out.
These are all clothes that I've worn maybe once or twice,
and since all I do is stay home, I don't feel the need to wash them yet,
but I also don't want to put them back into my closet.
So this couch is their temporary home.
Still, I feel like it's gotten out of hand.
So it's time to manage the mess a little.
Taking a moment to finally declutter my space
makes me feel like I'm resetting the foundation of my life.
It reminds me how your environment matters.
It affects your mood and how you feel.
How you choose to take care of your space, or not,
reflects how intentional you are in other areas of your life.
I've learned that habits are holistic,
meaning if you give thoughts, focus, and intention in one area,
that same thought, focus, and intention will flow into other areas.
When you make a habit to take care of your space,
you're more likely to have the habit to take care of yourself and vice versa.
If you make a habit of eating healthy,
that healthy mindset will flow into other areas of your life as well.
Change begins in one area and then ripples outwards, all the other areas.
By the way, this is a sample for a sweater that I'm designing for Lavendaire.
It's actually going to be a sweater and shorts set,
and it'll come in two colors: lavender and tan.
I am so excited about it, just having a cute lounge-y set for all of our Lavi Loves.
I'm going to embroider “artist of life” on the sweater,
and I'm still deciding on what to do with the shorts,
But this is just a sample of the cut, so I can't wait to show you more later.
Let me know in the comments below if you like it,
and what I should embroider on this top and bottom, because I'm still open to ideas.
In the end, this is what my new layout looks like.
I still like having my current clothes out,
but it just feels better when they're folded and organized like this.
Next, I'm decluttering my vanity.
This is a space in my room that's technically easy to clean up.
I have just gotten to the habit of leaving my most used items on the table.
Does anyone else do this?
I'm still practicing the rule “Put everything back in its home”, which I clearly don't always do.
While decluttering, I have a sudden urge to test out my foundations
since I haven't used them in a while.
So here I'm just testing and comparing the colors,
seeing what even still matches my skin.
This was a follow-your-heart type of moment,
which I like to embrace when I get the urge.
It's my way to practice listening to my inner voice and intuition.
I know this is a tiny example, but following small tugs like this is good practice
for listening and following your heart for bigger life decisions.
And I find that I only get these intuitive feelings when I give myself time and space,
and I don't feel any pressure.
It's hard to hear your inner voice when you're pressed with a deadline or in a stressful situation.
It's easier to hear that voice when you get quiet and mindful of the moment like this.
I think it's funny that I felt like putting on some makeup to go meditate.
Today I'm putting on a relaxing Spotify playlist.
This one is called “Stress Relief”.
And I often switch between a lot of similar playlists like this.
So I use this meditation app called Zenfriend to set an hour timer, with bells every 15 minutes.
I don't usually go up to an hour, but I like to have that option to keep the session open.
That way I can meditate for as long as I want,
and I'll hear the 15 minutes bell when they have passed.
During meditation, I got some ideas for work, so right after meditating,
I decided to go to my computer and add those notes in before I forget them.
And now it's time to go downstairs and let Togi out.
Togi just learned how to go down the stairs this past weekend.
He likes to stay by the wall so that he can feel protected, I guess.
We've been trying to teach Togi to ring this doorbell if he wants to go out to potty.
I mean, he knows how to ring it,
but I think he's still learning how to ring it himself without me telling him to.
So puppy training has been teaching me the importance of things like
consistency, repetition, patience, and time,
not expecting immediate results, but putting in the daily reps.
After we're finished downstairs, I head back up to my office.
I decided to hang out for a little chew session with Togi.
One of my favorite things about him is that he loves to cuddle in my lap.
It is so precious.
He did this ever since we got him,
and through this, I can tell how big he's gotten,
since he takes up more and more space on my legs as he grows.
Today, I felt like pulling a tarot card for the day.
I don't usually do this, but I like to do it when I have the time
or when I want some guidance for my day.
So I pulled The World card today and after I pull out the card,
I just take some time to look up the meaning
and then start to contemplate what it could mean for my life at this moment.
Next, I am journaling.
Journaling is always my go-to habit for clearing my mind,
centering myself, and connecting with my intuition.
I'm starting with my thoughts on the card that I just pulled and what it could mean,
what insights or guidance it could be providing for my day or my life.
And then I just flow on to write about anything that's on my mind at the moment:
what I have to do, what's coming up, the lessons I'm learning
and how I can best show up for my life right now.
After journaling, I have a Skype meeting with my videographer
to discuss our upcoming photo shoots for the workbook launch.
Then it's time to feed Togi his lunch.
After Togi has his lunch, I'll go downstairs and make my lunch,
which is my typical apple banana bowl that I've shown you guys before.
I like to dice up some tiny pieces for Togi as well,
so that he has a little bit of fruit in his diet.
Today, I'm adding yogurt, chia seeds, and granola with my fruits.
And it's honestly so refreshing and so good.
This is my time to nourish my body with food that makes me feel good.
So that I'm not on my phone while I'm eating, I like to read something easy and fun,
like these Chinese wisdom comics that I've talked about before.
They're basically ancient wisdom, presents it in a simplified cute way,
so it's nice to be able to gain inspiration and insight this way.
We have a whole collection of these at home,
so I'm just going through them very slowly, reading a few pages at a time.
Togi-bear!
I was so excited that Togi rang the doorbell himself,
so I had to stop what I was doing and let him out again.
Although I think he just wanted to go outside to explore.
Afterward, I felt like cleaning some more, so here I am vacuuming my room,
just resetting and refreshing my space.
These everyday chores might seem mundane,
but it's in these simple activities where you can practice being mindful of the present moment.
I like to be intentional, even with the little things.
While I'm vacuuming, I’m focusing on the intention to clear and refresh my mind and my life,
let go of what doesn't serve me, anything that I don't need anymore,
and also find peace and joy in the present moment in front of me.
In a year of uncertainty and chaos, it's in these simple everyday things
where we can find peace and safety.
We can focus on the small things in our life that we can control.
and always remember that our inner peace is in our own hands, not the hands of others.
It's with this mindset and perspective that I've been able to find peace and calm.
Sending you all so much love in your life and strength to get through whatever you're going through right now.
If you're looking for an actionable way to find balance and calm in your life,
check out my recent guided meditation video by clicking on the card or the description below.
Also, if you haven't heard, we're launching the 2021 Artist of Life Workbook on November 1st.
It's less than a month away and I'm super excited for you guys to see it.
Thank you all so much for watching and I'll see you next time.
Bye!