Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Frost Bank. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands who support Breakfast at Lilly’s. 

2018 has been all about working on my mindset and becoming a more appreciative, well-rounded person and this challenge has been another wonderful opportunity to do just that. Continue reading for my experience with the Opt for Optimism Challenge so far.

I’ve been participating in the Opt for Optimism Challenge for 2 weeks now and I have been loving seeing what each day’s prompt is going to be. I do have them all already on hand but I prefer not to look ahead at the next day’s task because I like the element of surprise each morning when I check that day’s task. It adds an added excitement for me.

It has had me looking forward to each and every morning knowing that a fun task was ahead of me that would help me be more optimistic and grateful. That’s one of the reason why I love challenges – there is always something to look forward to whether it’s an opportunity to express gratitude or pay it forward.

Some of my favorite tasks so far have been writing down 5 things I’m grateful for, deleting apps I’m not using from my phone, buying a cup of coffee for a stranger, and doing a favor for someone without them asking.

These are all such simple tasks but it’s something we can tend to forget since it isn’t something we’re thinking about all of the time.

This challenge has taught me to take a step back and embrace the little things in life and really just be more appreciative all around. I am excited to see what’s to cover over the next two weeks and share my final update sometime in September.

Optimism Challenge- Your Turn: 

Are you participating in the Opt for Optimism challenge? If not, there’s still time to sign up! If so, let me know how you’re liking it so far.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Frost Bank. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands who support Breakfast at Lilly’s. 

Over the past year, I have been on a journey to be my best self on all fronts. This includes bettering my physical, financial, and even emotional health. All of these things are connected in some way so it is important to take care of yourself.

How to Improve Your Mindset:

1. Practice daily gratitude // One thing that I have found most people do not do enough of is practicing gratitude. We seem to only seem to be grateful when everything is going right instead of embracing the little things when it seems like almost everything in life is going wrong. What I like to do is take 5-10 minutes each day to express gratitude for all of the good things that occurred that day.
2. Go for a walk or get a workout in // I don’t know about you but getting a little bit of activity in each day is so crucial to my mindset. I feel an increase of productivity, energy, and more after taking a little time out of my day to exercise.
3. Join the Opt for Optimism Challenge // If you really want to learn how to improve your mindset, then you’ll want to join me for the upcoming 30 day challenge starting on August 6th.I have always enjoyed participating in things that I know will be for the betterment of my health, wealth, knowledge, or the like so that’s why I am inviting you to join me starting August 6th for the 30 day Opt for Optimism Challenge with Frost Bank. 

I am excited to implement the daily tasks that the challenge has to offer. This year has been a rough one for me so I am always on the lookout for ways to improve my quality of life and be more optimistic.

Some goals that I want achieve over the next 30 days are getting more organized, going to the gym at least 3x a week, and taking time to be grateful at the end of every day.

Make sure you learn how to improve your mindset and sign up for the challenge and work towards more optimism in all aspects of your life.

Your Turn:

What are some things that you currently do to lead a more positive life? Are you considering signing up for the Opt for Optimism challenge? What are your thoughts on how to improve your mindset? Let me know down in the comments.

Hey friends, happy Monday! I’m coming at you with a coffee chat today. It’s been a crazy summer around here and it’s about to potentially get even crazier but I am so ready for it. I definitely don’t want to be vague but at the same time, I don’t want to reveal anything yet either because I don’t want to jinx anything so an update on the thing I am being so vague about will be coming your way as soon as humanly possible.

July Coffee Chat

Reading: I’m currently reading two Books. The first one is Profit First and the second one is called Beware the Past. Profit First is a business read while Beware the Past is more of a mystery thriller.

Listening to: All of my podcasts including the Strategy Hour, Profit Planner, Sword & Scale, and a few new ones including The ActiveCampaign Podcast, Pep Talks for Side Hustlers, and more.

Watching: The Bachelorette, the Bold Type, Younger, So You Think You Can Dance, and America’s Got Talent have been the shows I’ve been gravitating towards recently. I am also happy that Orange is the New Black is back.

Working on: I just had two back to back launches and now am getting ready to host the Uplevel Your Biz Summit with Lindsey of Blog Me Lovely.

Your Turn:

What have you guys been up to lately? Please feel free to let me know on this coffee chat down in the comments.

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Candle. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands who support Breakfast at Lilly’s.

In my opinion, summer is the perfect time for having friends over. From backyard BBQs to time spent by the pool, the options are endless. One of my favorite ways to entertain company is by having a game night complete with appetizers. Having company over requires a little work up front though. To prepare for company, I always do a few key things to make sure my place is in tip top shape.

1. Clean //

The first thing I do when inviting guests over is clean up the apartment. I definitely don’t want my friends coming over when my house is a mess so I pick up things, mop and vacuum the floors, wipe down the countertops, and more to prepare for guests.

1. Stock the fridge/bar //
   If your friends are anything like mine, they enjoy a good drink or two so we always make sure to stock our fridge with yummy beverages and eats in addition to stocking up our bar cart with cute bar accessories + of course, a variety of liquors.

   

2. Light some candles //
   I don’t know about you but I’m a huge candle person all year round. A lot of people only enjoy candles during the colder months but I have a candle lit pretty much every day of the year. Whenever we have guests, I go from lighting just one candle to having one lit in every room of the apartment from the bathroom to the living room and kitchen.

   
   My favorite candles lately have been from Chesapeake Bay Candle’s Heritage Collection. The packaging is very clean and modern looking and the candles all smell absolutely amazing.

The 4 candles I’ve been loving lately are as follows – the White Gardenia Large Jar Candle, the Bay Cottage Coffee Table Jar Candle, the Bay Cottage Large Jar Candle, and the Sea Salt Coconut Double Wick Tin Candle.

Each candle has a great scent and I am torn between the Bay Cottage and Sea Salt Coconut as my favorites. I love how Chesapeake Bay Candle offers a variety of sizes and they are reasonably priced for the amount of candle that you get.

Your Turn:

How do you prepare for a summer get together? Have you tried Chesapeake Bay Candle before? Feel free to let me know down in the comments.