Hi my loves!
Welcome back to Lavendaire.
So it is that time of the month again,
time to reflect on the past month and plan for the next month.
I can't believe it's already end of July.
This month kind of flew by for me.
And I felt like I didn't get much done in July,
but today, as I was reflecting on my highlights,
I was actually surprised at how much happened in this month.
I don't know, my sense of time is so weird right now.
But anyway, this video will be interactive,
which means you get a chance to pause and reflect,
and journal your responses to the prompts.
It's just a series to remind you to plan your goals
and stay on track to creating the life that you want.
So if you're new to this channel,
make sure you subscribe if you haven't already.
Let's get to it.
So first, let's review our month of July.
Describe July in one word.
What were your highlights from July?
What is one thing that you're proud of?
What is one thing that you learned?
Lastly, how can you improve for next month?
Alright, so moving on, let's plan for August.
First, you want to set your intention.
August will be ___.
Then list your top three most important goals for the month.
Next, set some mini goals.
What are some fun habits or activities you want to do in August?
Now make a weekly breakdown for your goals and mini goals,
so you can plan how you're actually going to get these things done.
And lastly, put these in your calendar so you have it scheduled in.
I'm also going to share a bonus question today:
If you could rate, from 1 to 10,
how aligned you feel to your dream life, what would that number be and why?
I'm also curious what you guys would rate yourself,
so we'll leave it down below in the comments, if you would like to share,
whether just the number or your entire reflection and why you feel that way.
All right, so now I'm going to share my answers for my July review.
July for me in one word was: Puppies.
And that is because I became so, so, so obsessed
with finding puppies and really wanting to get a dog this month
and being frustrated that I can't have one yet,
because in this pandemic, apparently everybody wants to get a dog
and it's hard to find a good dog.
It's hard to find a specific breed and all the breeders have waiting lists.
I went from looking through all of the adoption listings.
I applied for a dog, I didn't get it.
I called the shelter for another dog,
and it turned out that dog had temperament issues, biting issues that –
I live with my mom and she's scared of dogs,
so I can't have a difficult dog at home.
I need to find a really easy, really friendly dog.
So anyway, I have just been on waiting lists, actually.
At this point, I'm waiting and we'll see what happens.
There's nothing set in stone yet,
but I will get a dog before the end of this year.
Anyway, some other highlights from July:
We did the 10-Day Personal Growth Challenge.
And I'm proud of all of you guys who participated.
I'm proud of myself for completing the 10 days
and being consistent with journaling and reading.
And now I've just made reading
such a less daunting thing than it was before in my mind.
Before I'm like, “Oh my god, I have to read 30 minutes
or this number of pages every single day.”
And now I'm kind of habit stacking.
While I'm eating, I will read a little bit,
or I'll listen to an audiobook while I'm walking around the neighborhood.
Just really short, simple ways to read,
not really putting the pressure on myself.
We've made some progress on my Lavendaire rebrand goals,
as I mentioned in the last video.
We created a new box design.
We're rebranding with a new logo.
I did a major revamp for the Artist of Life Workbook for the 2021 version.
That was super daunting this month,
but I'm proud of myself for completing that – almost.
We are fine-tuning the little things, but it is like 95% there.
In July, my emotions were really all over the place
and I realized that I needed to do something new.
I needed some adventure, some creativity in my life.
So one of the days, I went to the dog beach with Wilson,
just so we could have lunch, sit at the bench,
eat lunch and watch the dogs play on the beach.
That was fun, just to get out of the house.
And it's still a socially distance activity.
And other thing that was really creative,
I did a Zoom cooking class and paint night with my cousins.
And those were my ideas, which I'm proud of myself.
But I just realized that there are so many things
that I would want to do, like a paint night.
You know, I've never been to those drink wine and paint nights,
and those were really popular before quarantine.
Anyway, I realized how easy it would be to do those things over Zoom.
So all we did was pull up a YouTube video
and looked up watercolor for beginners, and we just painted together.
And my cousin who really good at cooking taught us how to make carbonara.
He basically gave us a list of ingredients to buy and we all separately bought it.
We met up on Zoom and he walked us through cooking, and that was really fun.
One thing I'm proud of from this past month was finding inspiration again.
I spent a lot of the month not feeling inspired,
feeling unmotivated, and then recognizing that,
in doing things when I was being lazy,
like watching Netflix or scrolling social media,
I found inspiration through examples of strong women like AOC,
her speech that she gave on the House floor.
If you guys haven't seen that video, I'll link it below.
That was just so inspiring and empowering,
the fact that she's basically my age and she's kicking ass in politics.
And I don't know, that's a whole super inspirational story.
Another random example is:
I watched Indian Matchmaking on Netflix,
which is pretty problematic with its stereotypes and stuff.
But Ankita from that show, she's just a career woman, very modern.
And in the end, she didn't find someone,
but it was all about her journey to self love and being a boss.
And I just found that that was really inspiring.
One thing I learned in July was patience,
because I talked about how frustrating it is when you want something so bad,
but you can't have it yet.
I realized how passionate I can get when I really want something,
like you guys don't understand.
I researched so much about dogs, crate training, potty training.
I've shopped for dogs.
I already bought everything for a dog
before I even have one,
before I even know when I'm getting one.
I just became obsessed, guys.
That's where a lot of my extra energy went to.
And I just realized how productive I can be if I really want something.
And it was a juxtaposition,
where I didn't feel motivated to do work and to create,
but at the same time I was motivated to bring forth this project.
You know, all I can do is plan for the future in the present moment.
And once I'm done with the planning, that's all I can do.
All I can do is let go and trust the universe and the timing of everything.
How can I improve for next month?
I think I definitely have to plan more fun activities with other people,
to just take care of my mental health and ease my anxiety,
because after that weekend where I went to the beach,
I did the Zoom stuff with my cousins,
I felt so good.
And for the past two weeks before that,
I was struggling mentally, procrastinating,
feeling resistant, and not feeling like creating,
being obsessed with getting a puppy that I can't have right now.
And it was a lot of emotions and I really need to get out of my head sometimes,
ground myself, do something creative.
Like when I'm painting, I'm just focused on the act right here.
And I don't have the mental capacity to be thinking about
the future and worrying and having anxiety.
Next, these are my plans for August.
So in August, I definitely want to do a full declutter and clean my home.
I've been doing tiny things here and there,
but sometimes I'll just walk into a room and be like,
“Ugh, there's a box here, a box here.”
And I just feel like I need to clean,
but at the same time, I have a pressing deadline to finish the workbook.
So once that is completely done,
then I'm excited to just do a full physical refresh.
because I need one of those.
I'm also excited to make progress with the rebrand
and the new website and everything.
We're officially starting the new website in August,
so right now it's just the planning stages
and visualizing what my ideal dream website looks like.
And then lastly: finalizing sourcing for merch that I've been wanting to create.
I've been wanting to create sweaters and jewelry for Lavendaire,
but I feel like – I'm trying to find sourcing locally
because right now, international relations are a little rocky.
And plus, things take much longer.
So I'm just – we're just going through friends
and I'm still trying to figure out how to get that done.
All I wrote for my mini goals is to do yoga three times a week.
I kind of fell off doing yoga as much this past month.
And I think it really shows in how I feel about myself and my mental health.
I do have a Down Dog subscription,
so I did it today, and I'm going to make it a plan to do three times a week.
I'll also answer the bonus question:
How would I rate my life from 1 to 10, how aligned I feel to my dream life?
I would probably rate my current life like a 9, a 9.5.
You know, I feel like I'm super aligned to what I want in my life.
And the only things that are limiting me are just the world and the pandemic.
And maybe there are certain next steps
that I would want to take to further realize my dream life.
But it's not that I don't have those things.
I know that I'm on the way, you know.
I’m on the way to, you know, buying a new house.
I'm on the way to writing a book.
And those are things that I'm not even trying to rush.
I don't even have a timeline for myself.
I just know that I'm on the way there.
But I do feel aligned and I do feel things shifting this past month.
I don't know if it's my priority shifting or my path that's shifting,
but I'm accepting it as it comes.
And it's – I don't know.
I don't know how to explain it yet,
but I noticed my values and priorities shifting a little bit,
from being so externally focused to more internally focused,
like personal life, my home life.
Wilson says it's my motherly instincts kicking in because I'm 29.
I'm almost turning 30 this year, guys.
And he thinks that I really want a dog because I'm ready to be a mom.
I'm not ready to be a mom for a human baby,
but I'm definitely ready to be a dog mom.
And that's my next step.
And sometimes guys, I just feel like I don't want to be online.
I just want to find inner peace and hone myself.
But at the same time, I'm learning so much and I have a lot of wisdom.
I'm just lazy to share it sometimes, you know,
because creating takes effort and I want to do it when I'm inspired.
Anyway, I don't know.
Things are shifting and I know that by the end of this year,
things will become more clear, because astrologically,
I'm finishing up my Saturn return.
Anyway, that's kind of my life updates,
kind of like 5% of my life update.
But at this point, guys, I'm just honestly grateful to be alive,
to still be alive through all this,
to be experiencing life and experiencing the changes
and the ebbs and flows of the world that we're living in now.
I'm grateful for you guys.
I'm grateful for this community that we have together.
And when everything else is crazy,
just remember to take care of yourself first.
Take care of your mental health.
Just give yourself more love.
Find joy and inspiration in your everyday life.
That's really what I'm just focusing on.
I'm really not setting big, crazy goals this year.
I'm really focusing on making sure that I am okay.
Sending you so much love.
Bye!