A Sparkle and a Smile

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Love Yourself (As Justin Bieber Says)

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's been a long time no blog hasn't it? I've just been finding myself in a little bit of a funk lately. I'm blaming it on the dreary and freezing winter weather, but today is pleasantly warm and sunny even though the weatherman is delightfully forecasting a blizzard this week (ugh). One thing this funk has done is get me thinking about taking care of myself when I need it most. So the title of this post (like Justin Bieber's hit song) is: Love Yourself.


I know that sounds cheesy, but I'll bring it back I promise. First of all, I mentioned Justin Bieber. Say what you want about his very public antics, his current hit titled Love Yourself (with some writing help from Ed Sheeran) is one of my favorite songs right now. In case you haven't heard it he's talking to an ex and basically saying that being with her and trying to meet her standards made him into someone he didn't like and now she can go love herself. Deep right? The song is all about listening to your own needs and putting yourself first.

That's what I've been trying to focus on these last few weeks. How you ask? Pretty simple. First of all, I've been trying to eat a little better and exercising more (I'm talking actual physical activity here!). I think that both the kitchen and the gym can be pretty intimidating if you're not very experienced. I've definitely learned that! Let's just say i've eaten more than slightly burned chicken for at least one meal, but the experience has been very positive overall. And as for the gym, you have to acknowledge the fact that you're not going to be running a seven minute mile in one day. I know this one seems a little obvious, but if you're ever feeling discouraged by your progress just remember it's better than the milage you'd be getting on your couch. I've also started writing down the results of my workouts (miles, time, etc.) in my planner so that I can look back and see just how much I really am improving.


I've also been trying to find my happy place in the little things. It can be as simple as losing myself in a good album or book. I've been listening to Hoodie Allen's Happy Camper and reading Tyler Oakley's Binge (both are fantastic by the way!). Just this morning after a run and before making the yummy/healthy breakfast pictured above I took a nice long hot shower with my favorite shower gel: Lush's Happy Hippy. If you've never had the pleasure of trying it I can only describe it as sunshine in a bottle (it's that good I promise!). It has a bright citrus scent and is the perfect pick-me-up in the morning (or anytime). I also try to pick up fresh flowers when I can and put them in a vase on my entryway table. Coming home to a bright cheery bouquet even in the dead of winter is so lovely. Sometimes happiness really is in the little things.


I know none of these things I've mentioned are earth shattering and they're probably not new to you, but they've made a big difference for me. Sometimes you just need to take a little time to yourself and find a way to hit the reset button. Whatever your method is, I hope you remember to love yourself.

XO- Brittney


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Sunday, January 10, 2016

Blog Goals 2016

Hello Beautiful Ones!

Or should I say, Happy New Year beautiful ones?! I've definitely been spending the last week dating everything 2015 and then having to cross it out afterwards, oops! Maybe I'll get it by March. But every year the New Year seems to creep up on me. Instead of making hard and fast resolutions that I most likely won't keep I usually try to think about the things I want to accomplish or work on getting better at. This year I wanted to do the same thing not only for my personal life, but this blog as well.


A Sparkle and a Smile will be coming up on its 2 year anniversary in March, which is absolutely crazy to me! I'm not at all the same person that I was when I started writing this blog, and I'd like to think that the blog itself has evolved as well. It began as a way for me to share my thoughts on the various makeup and beauty products I am constantly testing out, but has now also grown into a place where I can share my thoughts not just about beauty things but life in general.

In the last couple of months though I haven't been posting as much. Maybe it was lack of inspiration, lack of motivation, or the frigid gloomy weather giving me the blues. I'm not really sure, but I started making myself feel really bad about it. I had it in my head that I just needed to throw a post up there for the sake of consistency, but as you may have guessed content usually doesn't turn out too great when you create it that way.

And maybe most importantly it wasn't true to the purpose of this blog: writing about things that make me happy. I want this blog to be able to showcase every sparkly side of life (some a little more sparkly than others), not force out posts because I feel that I need to. So my goal for this blog in 2016 is to write when I am inspired and forgive myself if I miss posting for a week or two.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions, or are you most excited to start a new journey? Let me know! Either way I hope your 2016 is full of sparkle!

XO- Brittney

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