LIFESTYLE

April’s here and we are already in the second quarter of the year, by the way, and this is a pretty good time to go through your goals that you had set at the beginning of the year( If you had set some), reassess them  now.

It’s time for a little bit of a think-tank-de-moi! A chance to stop, have a cup of tea and work out what is happening in my life, right now.

Here’s what is going on:

Making : A content plan for my blog.  This will help me have a pool of ideas that I can fish from at any given time.
Cooking : spaghetti and minced meat. Which got me into thinking, I should probably do a food blog.
Drinking : As always and forever; GREEN TEA
Reading:  Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Wanting: To not want to have a stomach ache right now.
Looking: Forward to the weekend.
Playing: James Corden carpool karaoke sessions. Makes me wish I had a golden voice.

Deciding: on what to forego with my tight budget.
Wishing: my abs would grow overnight.
Enjoying: the fact that it hasn’t rained today.
Liking: My neat room
Wondering: how people reconcile with the bad decisions they’ve made.
Loving: My health journey. Rating it I’d give it a 40%. Not good enough but I’m happy I took that one step forward.
Considering: On starting a YouTube Channel, though I feel I’m not ready yet…. and still scared to do it.
Watching: New Girl Sn 2. If you guys love comedy as much as I do, you should look for this series if you haven’t come across                      this yet.
Hoping: to finish my day’s tasks before heading to bed.  It’s 7:00 pm and I’m only halfway there.
Needing: some massage and spa treatment.
Wearing: My night-gown
Following: The series New Girl. I’m so in love with it. Plus I need the laughter every once in a while.
Noticing: that how you end your day matters just as much as how you start it.
Admiring: some shoes and dresses online
Sorting: out the bad and the good in my life.
Buying: Gifts for my friend’s baby 1st birthday. They grow up so fast, don’t they?
Getting: my nails done.
Bookmarking: some inspiring quotes.
Disliking: people sharing violent/disturbing stuff on social media – I unfollow those people asap (sorry!)
Opening:up to the idea that getting someone to help you is sometimes the only way you can move from one level to the next. It’s seldom a one man-show and the sooner I realize that, the faster I can actually grow.
Giggling: At some funny whatsapp status people in my contacts have put up.
Feeling: glad that I am alive…and not taking the opportunity to start over lightly..
Snacking: On some vegetable salad I made.
Wishing: Money could grow on trees.
Helping:  My small brother in doing his assignments.

**lots of love**

From the very first time I open my eyes everyday, I like to compose myself and look forward to a great day ahead. That thought alone gives me something to smile about. It’s important for me to feel happy every day because the moment I let go of that feeling is the moment I fall out of love with life. The old me didn’t understand that you had to consciously live a happy life, it doesn’t just happen. You learn to live happier and you learn how to love life.
I’m not always smiling, I’m human of course, but whenever I find myself in that gloomy mood I always remind myself the small rules towards my happy fulfilling life, and here I am sharing these little secrets with you guys.

• ENGAGE IN AN ACTIVITY THAT WILL CHALLENGE YOU- Ice skating was a challenge for me. I had a phobia of falling and hurting myself. But after a couple of falls and picking myself up I managed to learn and laugh and smile and walk on ice.
• ALWAYS FORGIVE – Don’t just forgive, forgive and let go. We have all experienced times in our lives where we feel that we may have been wronged and it’s even harder to take when it’s from someone you like, cared about or even aspired to be. But holding on to those feelings of animosity will inevitably consume you and any happiness that you may have once felt.But learning to let go, accept what has happened and move the hell on from it, perhaps even learning a little and growing as a person along the way really is a satisfying and liberating process. All you have to do is let it go.
• EXERCISE AND BE CONSISTENT IN IT – I’ve come to realize that taking care of your  body  is the best way to appreciate it and your life in general.  Exercise absolutely changed my world it enabled me to fall in love with my body, learn just how disciplined I am and also push myself through nothing but motivation. It really has moulded me into a better person. 
• BE THANKFUL – Being thankful is something I try to practice daily. From things that are as simple as waking up in the morning, the amazing people I have in my life, like seriously there’s billions of us out there and I got blessed with a bunch of the best, what are the odds? I’m thankful for all of these little moments throughout every day.
• SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD PEOPLE – If you’ve read my previous post, I’m sure you so this as part of my top 22 items / people that boost my moods. somehow I ended up with a great bunch of humans surrounding me. But when I say somehow what I really mean is I selected them intrinsically. From the best friend who selflessly helps me in day to day life or picks me up when I need it most to my closest family member, Le Sister who is always there for me. Those are the people who I choose to keep around me, who enrich my world every day and make it as happy as it is.

How Do You Live Your LIfe?

How Do Manage To Spice It Up?

Let me know in the comment section.

Have yourselves a wonderful week.

*Lots Of Love*

Sometimes life can get really stressful and hectic and all you want is to feel relax and not tired at all. I’ve always been a firm believer that if you pay close attention to the little things around you, life will definitely seem better and you will start seeing such a huge difference.

Today, I’ve rounded up a few of my 22 instant mood boosters in case you are in need for a little pick-me up.

1. Take a hot shower- The sound of water running alone helps me to calm down.  The warm water relaxes tense muscles and calms your central nervous system.
2. A cup or two or more of Green Tea- I can go on and on and on about green tea. All I know is that it leaves a smile on my face and helps me feel relaxed.
3. Make a favorite playlist- I fill it with happy songs, Songs that speak to me. I’m currently into French Songs; Indilla being my favorite  French Musician.
4. Sweat it out- I’ve come to appreciate some little exercise and try to keep it up. It helps me release my frustrations and endorphins.
5. Go for a swim- That is practically impossible with the bad weather, but whenever the sun is out, I will not hesitate to dive into the water.
6. Tick off something on my to-do list- It makes me feel like I am a little more on top of my life.
7. Go for a walk- Aside from soaking up the sun and getting that extra vitamin D, it also helps me reflect.
8. Eat some chocolate- It is said to make us happy.    By Us I mean women.
9. Get lost in a really good book- My current read is “On Black Sister’s Street”
10. Try a DIY- This helps me keep distracted as I focus my energy on creativity.
11. Organising and Cleaning out my room- I’m not a neat freak but a little organisation leaves me feeling great about myself.
12. Do something nice for somebody else. Showing kindness can help us feel better. Small actions— holding the door for the person behind you, sending a quick love text to a partner or friend, or donating to charity all count.
13. Practice breathing and meditation. Used for centuries as a relaxation technique, meditation has been shown to ward off depressive thoughts and anxiety.
14.  Detox your phone and social medias. Go through and delete anyone who sucks. There’s no greater feeling than this. Trust me on this one.
15. Visit a nice eat out joint- and just treat myself to some mouth watering dishes. A full tummy makes Puritie a happy girl.
16. Write down things that make you happy. Like a list. Lists make me happy. I should have started with this one. This is my happy to do list.
17. Learn something new. Learning can help us build confidence and a sense of self-efficacy, and fuel our creativity. You have a world of knowledge at your fingertips, don’t waste it in one corner.
18. Have a pamper day. Manicures,Pedicures, Massage, chocolate, cosy oversized sweaters & a feel good movie. Yes please. All day, everyday.
19. Make plans. Whether it be travel or dinner plans, having something to look forward to can raise spirits.
20. Surrounding yourself with people who lift your spirits- I am lucky to have such amazing friends.
21.  Smile. Even if you don’t feel like it, sometimes moving the muscles in our face activates chemicals in our brains to lift our moods.
22. Be grateful. Your happiness is only as good as your mindset.

You can tell me what boosts your moods in the comment section.

Have yourselves a lovely Tuesday.

*Lots of Love*

I am that person who is constantly changing her phone background. There’s just something about it that makes me feel refreshed and sparks some little joy inside me.  Also, knowing myself too well, I have the attention spam of a puppy and I love having something new and shiny to look at.

I am always looking for new ways to entertain myself. Today, I decided to share some of my favorite phone wallpaper that brings that little sparkle in my life.

I hope that you will all enjoy your week.

*lots of love*

So have been told that life is filled with problems, pain, disappointment and despair. You have experienced these things. And you have believed the lie. You have been conditioned over time to believe that you must fight for survival. That you must get yours while you can.

That you can’t really hope to do anything more than just get by. You’ve been told about all the injustice in the world, and how unfair life is. All that is true on one level. All that is true but it is not. You have been lied to for a very long time. The higher truth is that la vie est belle (life is beautiful). Not just beautiful. Life is beauty. Beauty is life.

Life is beautiful and you know it. On some level, on many levels, you know it. On many levels you’ve experienced it for yourself. You’ve seen the beauty many times before. And every time you stop to take a look, every time you look closely, it’s still very much there. The vast majority of your experiences are beautiful. Think of all the things that happen each moment, in each fraction of a second, to keep you alive.

What makes life good? You live by assumptions, because you can’t think through every little decision every time you have to make it.

Your assumptions make it easier and quicker for you to make decisions. The problem with assumptions is, eventually they get outdated, or perhaps they were never really valid in the first place. But because you have become so used to them, they seem to you like truth. And you live with that assumed truth without even thinking about it.

It’s important to ask yourself, it’s important to know, it’s important to be aware and to keep in mind and to update on a regular basis, what makes life good for you. Because, you see, you have the ability to create those things. You have the ability to bring more of those good things into your life, to bring more of those things that do really, truly make life good for you.

Life is nothing but a big support system. Some of the things we tend to pass through makes us strong while others tend to tear us apart. Just make sure you help as many people as you can in your life time because guess what? You never know when that day will come and everything is falling apart. We will need somebody to pick us up and the right people to do so is those who you helped along the way. We shouldn’t be afraid of falling. It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, that hard to fall?

No it’s not bad to fall or fail. When we do fall we should never be afraid to ask. Because it takes only a real person to know no human can make it alone in life, and if you have lived your life right you will always have people to talk to, listen and help .

So I will leave this at that and urge you not to take your friends for granted because life is unpredictable and we never really know. Most importantly never ever take yourself for granted.

**lots of love**

I can’t believe its March already, nowadays time seems to go so fast that I can’t even explain it. I quite fancied doing a bit of a clutter muddle ‘Taking Stock’ today because life is feeling a bit clutter-y and chaotic. Not only does this help me document the things I am liking and doing, it also helps me realize the things I am liking and doing. It’s sort of an anti-chaos too, if you like.

Here’s what the hap is in my neck of the woods…

Making : The most out of my free time. I’ve come to realize that if I plan my day well I can actually do so much more
Cooking : Hamburgers. I recently developed an appetite for junk food.
Drinking : Green Tea. More and more of it
Reading: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I want to cultivate a reading culture for myself . My goal is to read at least a book a                        month if not two. I am hoping that I’ll keep up.
Trawling: Nothing at the Moment.
Wanting: To make lots of money
Looking:  Forward to great things this March
Deciding: To start a business. Make a little extra income for myself.
Wishing: My hair could just co-operate and adapt to shrinkage.
Enjoying: Some DIY videos on YouTube
Waiting: For Dad to get home.
Liking: How the month has started out. It looks very promising.
Loving: Every moment of life. + my family of course
Listening: To some Jazz music. Yes Jazz.
Watching: Fifty Shades Freed. Have you guys read the Fifty Shades Novels yet?
Hoping: That 2018 will be more promising than the previous years.
Marvelling: At cute baby pics on Instagram.
Questioning: Everything and Anything.
Smelling: Some burnt food. I think my neighbour forgot she was cooking or something…can’t tell.
Wearing: A heavy trench coat, a pair of socks and black jeans and a really cute purple top. Because the weather today                                decided to be extra cold.
Noticing: That I’ve really been lazy especially on my skin care routine.
Knowing: My place in People’s lives.
Thinking: About my life as a billionaire
Admiring: My very cool best friend and her enthusiasm about life. I need some of that energy.
Getting: rid of old clothes. I’m de-cluttering my closet. I’m I the only one who has a difficult time letting go of things?                            Anyways, It’s about time to get organised.
Bookmarking: Stylish dresses
Disliking: Washing Dishes
Closing: All negative vibes from negative people.
Feeling:  A bit fuzzy
Hearing: The sound of a plane passing.
Pretending:To be on top of things, mostly
Embracing: Life and all of its goodness.

**Lots of Love**

And so it’s with a glass of home-made mango juice and a slice of peanut butter toast that I find my self back here. It hasn’t been that long really  but I feel like I posted 2000 years ago.😁😁  Hi! & Hello! 🙋🙋How have you guys been?  I want to say THANK YOU for the love and kindness that you guys have shown me over the past few weeks.

That felt exceptionally good.

Why don’t we start off this day by talking about Valentines day cards? A good place to start right? How was your V-day by the way? I sure do hope you at least got yourself a box of chocolate or something for your loved ones or your significant other. Spread some love. To be honest valentines is not really my thing, however, a girl wouldn’t mind some appreciation on that day.

#Random fact about me of course. I am extremely disenchanted with flowers but coming to think about it, if I had to choose a flower, my only option being flowers, I wouldn’t mind a white rose. Historically, the white rose symbolized innocence and purity(Puritie being my name), I’m bound to automatically get drawn towards it. Maybe it’s just me.

Anyway this time round, my girlfriends( hence the title galentines) and I decided to try something different.  We had massive fun trying to be all creative about our hand-made valentines cards. This was me thinking out of the box….haha. I’ll put it all out there for you guys to see our so-called creativeness. Disclaimer: They are not the most professionally done cards but either way; they were made with pure love and I was pretty much impressed by our selves.

Creating these valentine cards with some of my most important people had me thinking about the love I have in my own life, who I’m sharing it with, about where and when I feel it. It seems to be on a daily pendulum that swings back and forth between bursts of spontaneous and deliberate love. I’ve recently cropped up the habit of analyzing how my day was. What were my highs and lows of that day. At what moment did I feel most loved etc and honestly, this has made me see life in a more positive way.  Turning a plain and uninterested “What did you do today?” text to an interested “Tell me about your day” text. (I don’t know if that makes sense but … oh well.) I almost forgot about the great fun times that you’ve shared with your friends or significant other, can easily go unnoticed.

LOVE.

We have to admit it’s the little moments that we get to share with our loved ones that can make a boring and dull day , or let’s say the most dreaded Monday mornings feel so full and rewarding and shockingly beautiful, it makes you want to tip your head up and laugh.

**Lots of Love**

I’m at the balcony of my room staring far and wide into the now setting sun. wondering what life for me after campus would be. Will I be one of the many successful women I see around. I’m in my 20’s now and age is catching up real quick yet I have nothing going on for myself. Am I the only one going through this?
I slowly walk back into my room, my head low, climb up my bed only to set my eyes on an article that was to be an eye opener to me. Suddenly I feel relieved. You know why? Because I realized this is just a part of a stage in my life.
Well, How many more girls out there are like me? Wondering what has become of their life?
So I thought that I should be kind enough to share this article by Poornima Bakar and I am positive that this will help generations and generations of girls in their mid-20’s.

Here goes nothing
Enjoy.

You’ve spent so many years looking forward to this phase of your life and it always looks so cool, so glamorous, so filled with love and laughter. Yet here you are, with knowledge that it’s all nothing but it’s messy buns and messier lives. It’s baggy shirts and overflowing laundry bags. It’s a lot of work and there is never enough money. It is freedom with piles of responsibilities and life is no longer what it seemed. Different people are doing different things, your best friends’ are already getting married or starting families, your old classmate is killing it with success, your ex is happy in love, your old mate is drowning in drugs, yes different people are drowning in different things and needs…but not you, you are just existing, you are getting through everyday better than the last but then you have days which you don’t want to get up at all.

You spend most of your Friday nights holed up in a little corner of some club/ house because you are too responsible to drink your night away silly and too much of a control freakish to lose yourself into someone else’s tunes. But somehow this is not enough. This life that you are living does not feel complete. There is some loud loneliness screaming at you every now and then, wrapping around you like your favorite blanket and you wonder where you went wrong. Why you became different from everyone else.

Did I do things too much too soon? Did I not do enough? Is there a reason why it was never me? Is this going to be rest of my life? Alone? Unsuccessful? Filled with dreams that will never come true? And your hands reach out to your phone. One text. One call. To that someone who might make you feel pretty. Who might make you feel important. And your need takes over.

The need to feel accepted. To feel appreciated. To feel adored. To feel loved. And it is so strong, you forget your sanity for a few minutes of flattery. You lessen your worth for dishonest words. The hurt in your heart, camouflaged. If only for a few seconds. But it’s never enough. And when you wake up, it’s worse. The hammering of your heart so loud in your ears. A memory of last night frustratingly haunting. Yet another mistake. Yet again.

You scream hateful words to yourself. When will I ever learn? You go over those messages. Those conversations. How you fell right back into a ditch when you knew better. Just for a moment, you wish you weren’t yourself. And in that moment, read these words: Breathe. It’s not so bad. You think I don’t understand. But I do. Because I’m there, too. I’ve made that call. I’ve texted that wrong person. I’ve woken up with regrets. I still do. I’ve felt the need to be held. I’ve felt that silent green monster towards a friend in love.

Yes, we all make those mistakes. And we all think nobody else does. But they do. So please, don’t hate yourself. And don’t stop. Don’t stop loving with all you have. Don’t stop wishing on every shooting star. Don’t stop dreaming of fairytales and being amazing as Malala Yousafzai. You might not always get there, but don’t stop.

You have so much left to do. You have a world filled with life waiting to happen. You have books to be read. Steps to be taken. Places to see. People to meet. You haven’t lived half your life yet. There’s so much ahead. And in ten years, when you look back, you’ll wish you were here again.

So don’t waste it wallowing in your own sadness. Don’t lose yourself to your self-pity and non-existent boundaries. And I don’t mean spend thousands of dollars and visit the North Pole. I know how you’re struggling to make ends meet.

Do the simple things. Stop procrastinating. Take a walk with nature. Go to the gym. Read your favorite book for the millionth time. Watch a movie. Write your novel. Sketch until you’re better than the best. Eat like you’re dying tomorrow. And most importantly, make mistakes. Your heart will heal. But today will never be back again. Don’t live with “Could-have-been .” Take chances.

And ALWAYS remember – It’s okay to be alone. There is time to let your life revolve around someone else. But today, let it revolve around you. Not because you can’t find someone. Not because you can’t be loved.

But because you deserve to wake up with a smile. You deserve to live life. To make memories so wild, you’ll be the coolest grandparent they’ve ever known.
Breathe. It’s only your mid-20s
You’re going to be alright.

Have you ever sat down and wondered what have you been doing all your life? So here I am wandering, wondering to myself just like most of many people reading this, what good thing would I have done only if time could be reversed. What if I could just go back to just that particular day, everything in my life would have been okay. Just that particular day everything in my life would have changed.
But if you sit down and meditate on the number of times in your life that you have messed up, it’s actually impossible to go and correct all the wrongs you have done in your life because you know what? It’s not human, actually very impossible for a normal person to live without making mistakes here and there. It is impossible to live that perfect life, a life without errors.
Even those who seemingly look like they have the perfect life, a life to admire, simply don’t. They too have problems of their own. One can possibly not attain self fulfillment in life without realizing what he or she wants in life.
So it was one of this lonely afternoons, one that you just sit down and wonder what is life because everything in your world seems to go wrong, until the moment that a friend of mine shared this poem with me and it seemed to relate in every bit and way with me. Life in the twenties is confusing and no one should feel alone in this wierd stage of life.
ENJOY!

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn’t know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you
are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don’t recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job… and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and
find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.
You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that
you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you’re doing this because you know that you aren’t a bad person. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting
wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now.
You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself… and while winning the race would be great,
right now you’d just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
We call it the “Quarter-life Crisis”.