Florida Archives | But First, Joy

Inspiring ordinary women to find joy in everyday things. Get My Newsletter

2019 Orlando Christmas Bucket List

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15 Holiday Volunteer Opportunities in Orlando

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Seasons 52 Root & Vine Menu + New Fall Favorites

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How To Prepare for a Storm When You Don’t Have Money to Spare

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Taste! Central Florida: Eating & Giving Back – GRAB YOUR TICKETS!

10 Best Parks in Florida To Visit Year Round

Most Interesting Orlando Museums: A Visitor’s Guide

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10 Reasons Daytona Lagoon is the Best Florida Water Park

7 Best Florida Beach Towns To Visit This Year

5 Best Weekend Trips in Florida (on a budget)

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Where to find the Best Brunch in Disney Springs

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6 Fun Places To Take Kids During a Heat Wave

10 Best Toddler Activities in Orlando (that aren’t Disney)

10 Cheapest Things to Do in Florida With Kids

6 Exclusive things to do at the 2019 Epcot Flower & Garden Festival

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8 Must-Try Sweets, Treats, and Drinks at Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival

Why you should choose the Central Florida Zoo for a Birthday Party

Seasons 52 Review & Valentine’s Day Deals

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Inspiring ordinary women to find joy in everyday things.

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What is normal anyways? 🤔 I wanted to fit in

What is normal anyways? 🤔

I wanted to fit in; to be like the other ladies in my circle of colleagues and peers. I felt uncomfortable being “rough around the edges” as I liked to call myself.

I’ve never wanted to be the center of attention so blending in felt like the right way to go. So, I slowly molded myself until I felt like I was exactly what others wanted me to be.

I’m doing so, I lost myself. I forgot who I was before all of this. I couldn’t figure out what made ME special anymore.

In working on your mental health and journey of self-love, I ask that you never try to be “normal”. Honestly, the best route is to not try to BE anything other than who you are.

I know it can be hard sometimes... to remember who you are. So, do the things you love. Spend time with people who REALLY know you and love you.

Then, pay attention to who you are in those moments. Jot down the feelings, take mental notes, speak to others about what they love about you. Just as importantly, accept your flaws. Your flaws make you WHOLE.

FIND yourself. ACCEPT yourself. LOVE yourself.

#mentalhealthquotes #selfcarequotes #wholesomememes #authenticself #fallinlovewithyourself #mentalhealthawareness

✨ L E V E L UP ✨ My word of the year is GRO

✨ L E V E L UP ✨

My word of the year is GROWTH. This word kept popping up all around me, along with awakening, so I knew it was the universe was trying to tell me something.

Together, these two words have completely empowered me to make some big changes in my life.

I encourage all of you to trust yourselves. Pay attention to you intuition and follow your gut. We have the tools we need within us to grow – we just have to listen and pay attention to our bodies and minds.

If something doesn’t feel right — step away from it. Notice what makes you feel energized and what drains your energy. If something doesn’t align with your core values, let it go without a second thought.

My friends, that’s what true self-love looks like. Loving yourself enough to say no without feeling guilty. 🙌

Level up your mental health, dig deep into spirituality, and watch as the rest of your life transform. You’ll find yourself yearning for better foods, taking better care of your appearance, and wanting to MOVE your body.

We’re so often taught to “fake it til you make it” and to “just get it done”. Don’t listen to any of that. Put in the REAL work for YOU and everything else will fall into place.

You deserve to love yourself the way you love others. 💖

#loveyourselffirst #captionswithheart #levelup #mentalhealthawareness #humandesignprojector #stitchfix

“The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is

“The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it." – National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman 🇺🇸✨

I’m so honored to have witnessed an incredible piece of history today, as our first WOC was sworn in as VPOTUS! ❤️

As a mother of two boys, I vow to raise them to respect women as much as they do men. I vow to teach them to be kind to everyone and to ALWAYS stand up for what’s right.

As the strong female lead in their lives, I’ll teach my my children to love ALL children. I’ll raise them to be the LIGHT 🌟 in the dark times and to intentionally be on the RIGHT side of history.

Today is the beginning of something incredible. Young children everywhere get to see a piece of themselves in the leaders of our country. They get to see a woman who looks like them and leaders who have grace and empathy. 👏

Going forward, my greatest hope is for all of our children to be raised united, as one. Should the day come where they witness or experience acts of hate, my hope is for them to rise above and stand together. ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿

May today be a day of celebration for all of us as we move forward in healing and hope.

#onenationundergod #togetherwestand #strongfemalelead

Where my people pleasers at? 🙋🏻‍♀️ I

Where my people pleasers at? 🙋🏻‍♀️

I used to be a people pleaser. It came in the form of comparison, self-hatred, and perfectionism.

I was constantly at war with myself to the point of rethinking and second-guessing EVERY decision I made from posting on social media to raising my kids.

I knew, if I wanted to be a good mother AND an impactful human being, I couldn’t continue judging myself or trying to be someone I’m not.

So, I started putting in a real, genuine effort to love myself, which is something I’d never really done before.

I introduced so many new things into my life, like journaling, personal development books, human design, and positive self-talk.

I also let go of A LOT... toxic friendships, expectations of people who continued to disappoint, attachment to material things, and bad habits.

I unknowingly was rewiring my brain to give myself more love and less critique. I allowed myself to do all of the things we’re often told we shouldn’t do: rest, fail, cry, make mistakes, and share all of that on social media.

My goal in sharing this is to inspire you to also put in the REAL work... FOR YOU. Stop listening to the busy world and start doing your own thing. Do what feels RIGHT for YOU and let go of anyone or anything that just doesn’t align with your end goals.

People will judge you regardless and when everything is quiet – it’s just your body and your mind. Learn to love it fiercely. 💖

#peacefromwithin #inspiringquotes #selfloveisthebestlove #warriorgoddess #humandesign #humandesignprojector #peoplepleasers

EDIT TO ADD: Reposted due to typo 🤦🏻‍♀️

Spending my days doing the things that I love. 🌿 Making things with my hands is something I enjoy so much. I’m thankful for my #CricutJoy and it’s ability to create big beautiful signs!

There’s something about finishing things and accomplishing something that makes me feel great everyday. Life is too short to NOT do the things you love.

Swipe to see the process photos. Let me know if you’d like a blog tutorial! 🌟

Bulk White Smart Vinyl from @officialcricut / Cut with Cricut Joy machine/ Wood round: @homedepot / Stained with Birchwood Walnut Stain / Ribbon and leaves from @michaelsstores / bought the design on @etsy & customized it in Cricut Design Space. 🙌

#cricutmade #cricutcreated #lifewelllived #createmore #diysign #cricutproject

When I’m stressed, I lose myself in tedious task

When I’m stressed, I lose myself in tedious tasks. I dumped everything into bins a month ago and finally used my @officialcricut Joy to make labels today. It gives me control of SOMETHING and the outcome is marvelous. The labels themselves were easy to make!

How do you manage your stress at home?

#thehomeedit #organizationideas #cricutjoy #cricutmade #cricuthome #stressreliever

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐚

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 🦋🌷

This is something I've found myself saying since December. I was wrapping gifts and my husband commented on how much work I put into wrapping each individual present – even for the kids.

Sure, I could easily throw everything into bags and call it a day. The kids don't care and honestly, I'm not sure if anyone in my family appreciates the effort. 🤷‍♀️

THAT ISN’T WHY I DO IT.

Wrapping gifts with pretty paper, bows, ribbons, and homemade gift tags – 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲.

At least once a month, I spend a lot of time putting together a fancy charcuterie board for my husband and I. I fold the meats, cut the cheeses, and careful place every piece on the board. It's a lot of time and effort – but 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 because I appreciate a beautiful setup.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

The point of me sharing this is to simply remind you that 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐓𝐇 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

Think about the last time you worked on a project at work, home, or school. You likely shed lots of a sweat and tears. You may have failed and second-guessed yourself time after time.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵? 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥?

When you put 100% of your effort into completing something, it is much more solid than something you just threw together.

YOU are more tough and durable when you build the tools you need to survive hard times.

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲.

#growthmindset #wordoftheyear #goodthingstaketime #selfcarepriority

2 0 2 1 G O A L S ✨ Every year I like to writ

2 0 2 1 G O A L S ✨

Every year I like to write down my list of goals, in an effort to manifest exactly what I want for the new year. Life is unpredictable; 2020 taught us that. However, I’ve learned to be hopeful no matter the circumstances. These are my goals.

✨ L I S T E N more — to my body, to my kids, to compliments, to the universe.

✨ M A K E more — memories, great content, money, crafts, space for those who matter.

✨ L E A R N more — spirituality, human design, ways to impact others, from mentors & like-minded individuals.

✨ W A S T E less — money, attention on things that don’t matter, food, energy on toxic people, time on social media.

What do you want from 2021? Tell me in the comments below! Talk about it. Let’s MANIFEST it together!

#humandesignprojector #manifestation #personaldevelopment #2021goals #humandesign