Some Major Notebook Inspo

One "trend" that I saw a bunch of at the start of this year was the creation of dream/vision boards. My Instagram feed was full of gorgeous, personalized boards perfectly tailored to match their creator. I loved the idea, but I had nowhere to hang a big, beautiful board in my small apartment bedroom. So, I decided to treat myself to a gorgeous new notebook with a bunch of blank pages to make my very own inspo journal. I'm essentially using this "scrapbook-inspired" book as a way to document things to remember for my future life/self-- think of a Pinterest board of ideas, cut and pasted into a physical book.

I wanted my book to highlight who I am, who I want to be, and what I aspire to do in the future. Some pages look a bit messy, but I think that's the beauty of the journal. It's not perfect and it's all about me and my style. My book has recipes, home decor, holiday inspo, trendy accessories, places I want to visit, and a bunch of other random stuff. My goal is to keep growing my book as I find things this year that inspire me.

The notebook I got is from Anthropologie. It's a bit pricey for a journal, but I knew it would be something I'd keep forever so I decided to splurge. Seriously y'all, how pretty is it?!

I'm so excited to keep filling the pages with my thoughts, ideas, inspo and aesthetic. Do you have a vision board? I'd love to see what fills your own personal thought bubble! Tell me about it in the comments!

Stay smilin' -- Steph

Chasing Perfection

So, I've been a bit quiet lately when it comes to my blog and "happiesteph" brand. Life has been stressful, and crazy, and wonderful all at once. Last month, Jared got a job offer here in Florida at Lockheed Martin, (YAY!) so the past month has been full of apartment tours and figuring out the start of this new journey for the two of us! In light of him landing an incredible position, signing a new apartment lease, and trying to figure out life, my job hunt has been in full throttle.

Since I started life in Florida a year ago, I've been on over 40 meet and greets. (Phew. That's a ton.) I've met so many incredible people, who touch all different facets of the Walt Disney Company. Of course, in the midst of it all, I'm looking for my fit as a Disney cast member in branches of the company that I'm passionate about pursuing.

To be totally open and transparent with all of you, I have been struggling this past month. It's discouraging being denied positions you really wanted. It's frustrating to know that you've worked hard in high school and college, through internships and part-time jobs, and in day-to-day life to be where you are, and suddenly feel like you're at a standstill. But, what I keep reminding myself is that everything happens for a reason, and I'm doing everything I can to succeed.

Last week, I had a bit of a breakdown to my built-in therapist-- my mom, and she finally said words that I think I needed to hear most, "You are chasing perfection and getting down on yourself if you don't achieve it. But honey, no one is asking you to be perfect." And she could not have been more right. How often do we compare our own story to someone else's, or our accomplishments to the person next to us? Why do we think that the people we follow on social media or online live perfect lives? Every human being fails and every human being makes mistakes.

The best thing we can do is learn, improve and keep moving forward. I work for an incredible company with so much room for personal and professional growth. I live a very happy and healthy life, and soon I'll get to live it alongside my best friend. I have so many things to be grateful for, yet I let the things that go wrong consume me at times.

I guess the point in telling you about my life is to say that everything happens for a reason, and you are right where you should be. Every choice we make and thing we do in life leads us to exactly where we need to go.

So if you're walking through the weeds, keep on walking. If you're falling down, pick yourself up. And if you're chasing perfection, slow down-- there's a good chance you'll never catch it. (And that's just fine.)

Stay smilin' -- Steph

Write It Out: Journals of Thought

You guys, I have 3 separate journals/notebooks. I think I may have an organizational problem. My first is a Rifle Paper Co. planner that I got for Christmas. The second is a bullet journal. (I'm very new to this space, but I'm not exactly sure how I feel about a journal full of dots.) Third is a new Rifle Paper Co. notebook that I got for Christmas from one of my coworkers. I primarily use the third notebook to write out my goals, dreams and ideas.

I've found tons of ideas on Pinterest as to how I should fill my "journal of thoughts." (Yes, that's what I will call it from now on.) I wanted to share with you guys some of the creative pages out of my journal and hopefully give you some inspiration to start your own!

My New Year's Goals: The first page of my journal is all about my New Year's goals or "resolutions," as they are more commonly known. I put these first and foremost so that every time I open up my journal, I'm reminded of what I'm here to accomplish in 2019.

Weight Tracker:

I don't know about you all, but I literally love love love making to-do lists. Sometimes I'll add the silliest, smallest tasks to my list simply so that I can check off more boxes and feel more accomplished. That's why I created the weight loss log. Coloring in the boxes as I drop the pounds is almost as satisfying to me as actually losing the weight. (Totally kidding. Losing weight is a million times better, but coloring in boxes is so visually pleasing.)

Content Planning:

This year, one of my overarching New Year's goals is to get better about blogging more regularly. I do so much better when I have lists and write things out, so I decided to do a bit more content planning. At work, I've created some fun, creative forms for my content creation ideas and I thought, "Why don't I implement this into my everyday blogger life?"

"Dream Board" :

I've seen so many people this year creating dream/vision boards. I literally L O V E them. Each one is so different and unique based on the person who has created it. I want to make one for myself, but my room is simply too small for something else to be hung on my wall. I decided to make a vision "page" in my journal. I'll do a blog post about my vision page to show you all what it is about!

Meal Ideas:

I find a billion recipes on Pinterest that I simply pin and forget about later. So, I've been trying to write down the name of the recipes I like the most so I can reference them in the future when I need some meal inspo!

Mini-Victories: This is something I started doing halfway through last year. Whenever something happens that makes me happy or feel good about myself, I write it in as a mini-victory! Last year, for example, some of my mini-victories were sunrise yoga at the Magic Kingdom, attending a photoshoot with Nikon, moving to Florida on my own, and running my best mile-times. It's so nice to look back at the end of the year and reread the little things you accomplished that you may have forgotten about!

Budget Plan: I am the worst saver, ever. I need so much help saving money. My goal by the end of my internship with to have saved about $3,000 more than I have now. Hopefully, I can stick to my plan and move in the right direction of saving!

Your fitness/wellness/dream journal of thoughts can literally be whatever you want it to be! The best part about my journal is that it is very uniquely mine. And, be sure to grab some fancy new pens for yourself! I am obsessed with the pens I use! They're linked here!

What's in your journal of thoughts? I'd love to see and hear about the pages you've come up with! Leave me a comment and tell me all about it!

Stay smilin' -- Steph