Month: April 2018

Dreaming of Wedding: I asked and they said YES!

Posted on by Steph
Welcome to the new post series, Dreaming of Wedding.  I am so excited with planning my wedding, I want to share all I can.

I mentioned in a past post (that you can read here) that I have two Maids of Honor. I gave Future Hubby the idea that since I have 2 best friends and he has 2 best friends, to not choose between them and choose them all as our Maids of Honor and Best Mans. And that’s our wedding party, we will not have bridesmaids, flower girl or anything else.

When we took this decision I decided I wanted to do something nice and fun to ask both my best friends to be my Maids of Honor, and this is what I came up with:

Chocolates for when the wedding planning process made them feel stressed.

They had to fill the blanks with names of the products. The message said: “We are nearly there. Please bare with me.”

A little note telling (not asking) them that they were my Maids of Honor.

They were surprised. It was fun and cute, and they said yes! I am a very happy Bride To Be!

If you want to do something like this for you Maid(s) of Honor or Bridesmaids, keep in mind that they may think that what you are about to tell them is that you are pregnant! Yes! That’s what happened to me! When I gave the box to Maria that is what she thought, but she didn’t tell me. Then when I gave Lourdes her box she thought the same! And she told me! The next day, still shocked, I told Maria what Lourdes had thought and she confessed that she had thought the same! I was shocked! Can you believe those girls?!

Drama aside, I am happy to have them by my side in the wedding planning process and during the big day. I love my girls!

How did you ask your bridal party to be part of the big day? Or, what ideas do you have for when the time comes? I will love to know, leave me a comment below.

Never stop dreaming,

♥ Steph

My 31 Days Mindfulness Journey

Posted on by Steph

Hi there!

Today I want to share with you my 31 Days of Mindfulness Meditation journey.

From my journal on March 18, 2018:

“I have been feeling so stressed, my body has been angry at my, this week I had the worst episodes of migraine I have ever had. One day this week I had a migraine for most of the day, I stayed home, I spent my day from my bed to my sofa, when the migrane went away, it left a sensation of pain, something that I am used to when I get migraines, but then at night I started to get a headache in the frontal area (tension headaches), and when I went to bed at night I had pain on one shoulder, lower back and on my legs. The next day, Saturday, I decided I had to do something to feel more relaxed and give my body and mind some love.”

On a mindfulness meditation class I took at Instituto de Mindfulness in Old San Juan, Veronica Fernandez, the facilitator, told us this about mindfulness:

“It is having a mental presence. Being here now. It is being aware of our physical, mental and emotional experience at this time. It is a silent, natural, relaxed approach or attention. It is that body and mind are in the same place at the same time. It is observing without getting involved.”

I have been into mindfulness meditation for the last 2 years, but it’s something I do for a time and then I don’t do for a longer time. This time I decided I had to do something, so my plan was to try mindfulness meditation for 31 days to see how will it make me feel. I keep a note on my phone of short entries for each day I practiced it.

Day 1:

It wasn’t so bad, I decided to start with 5 minutes and they didn’t felt as long as I thought they would.

Day 2:

I had a harder time getting to stay focused, there was noise on my street (that started when I decided I was going to meditate, and now that I finished and I’m writing this the street has gone silent), plus a lot of thoughts about the university and the wedding. I feel like 5 minutes are not enough.

Day 3:

I made the mistake of meditating just before going to sleep, and tried to do it for 10 minutes, and for half of the meditation I was really just fighting to not fall asleep.

Day 12 & 13

I woke up at 4:30 even tough I didn’t have to, since I didn’t have to go to work, but I am committed to waking up early and I am loving meditating at this time of the day. This past 3 days that I have implemented the mantra “Yo puedo” (“I can”), to bring my mind back when it wonders has help me keep a positive feeling through my meditations.

Day 31

I woke up late today so I decided to meditate on the car, before my day got all crazy. I have gotten used to doing it everyday and I get less distracted that on the beginning.

Today is day 32 of Mindfulness Meditation, and I love how it has become part of my daily routine and I am determined to find time for it. My favorite time to do it is at 4:30 in the morning before starting my day, but when that doesn’t happen if I have the time I will do it in the parking at work or at my practice center, and if that doesn’t happen I will do it at night before going to sleep, but that is my least favorite time to do it, because I am usually tired and sleepy.

Streaks App – 32 days of Mindfulness Meditation, still working on other habits.

I am still suffering from migraines, I think it may have to do with the hectic lifestyle I am having, but meditating daily has helped me on the way I react to them. I am not good with pain, I get frustrated, inpatient, I cry, I feel desperate and I can’t stay still. Now when I get migraines I can stay still, I breath and concentrate on the feeling of my breathing to help me not reacted to the pain and the thoughts that may come. This has help me a lot, I still cry and feel desperate, but compared to how it was before, I have seen a big change. The best part is that being still and not crying, while I can, helps to not make the pain worse.

This is how a meditate, a dog on my lap and a cat looking out the window.

Mindfulness meditation is good for our bodies and souls, and there are many ways to practice it. I will be writing more about it in the future. For now I want to challenge you try Mindfulness Meditation for 31 days. Take some time from your day, even if it’s just 3 minutes, sit still and quiet, concentrate on your breathing, acknowledge your thoughts and then let them go away, and work on not reacting to them. It will feel strange at first but then it will feel so refreshing, trust me.

“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quietening and relaxing the restless mind.” -Remez Sasson

Have you tried Mindfulness Meditation? What are your thoughts on it? Please let me know in the comments section below.

Never stop dreaming,

♥ Steph
Ps. I used the Streaks app to keep track of my progress and the ZenFriend app as a timer.

My Current Favorites (April 2018)

Posted on by Steph

Today I want to share with you my current favorites. This time I have a variety of things that I am loving, some of them that make life easier, some more enjoyable and others fun. It think you will be surprise.

The first thing I have to talk about are the Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipsticks. Not having to reapply my lipstick during the day is amazing. I normally apply my lipstick by 7:00 am, just before starting work, and the days I have classes I am usually taking my makeup off very late at night, and on most days me lipstick stills looks good, not perfect, but good. This are the only ones I have been wearing on those long days, so that I can go about my day without having to think about lipstick. Believe when I say that it’s been hard trying not to buy every single shade, but this grown woman has another responsibilities (you can read about that here), so I am trying me best.

I have been using MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Fix+ to set my makeup for quite some time now, but recently I have changed the way I used it and my makeup as been looking and feeling so much better. Now instead of using it as a setting spray I have been using it as a primer. After I apply my serums and moisturizers I spray it on my face and when my face dries I then apply my makeup.  It helps keep my face hydrated, with a glow, but not oily or extremely shiny. Even on days I am not wearing makeup I use it, it has become part of my skincare routine.

If you have read my blog before, you know I am all about body products, especially body wash with delicious scents. I am bit weird and I like having one to use on the mornings, other at nights, and I have another I use when I take a shower at a different time of the day and when I scrub, since right now they are the same scent. But my favorite off all is the one I use at night. This Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Body Wash in the scent Comfort is so good. I am convinced that it helps me relax after a long day before going to bed. I have been incorporating mindfulness into my shower routine, and being present and aware of the sent, the bubbles it forms (I use a loofah with it) and the warm water, it has made taking a shower at night an amazing experience, something to look forward to every day. And then applying the body butter is just like the cherry on top.

My other favorite goes in hand with the last one. Another good smelling product, but this time for my apartment. Since the day I started moving to my apartment I put a Bath and Body Works Wallflower Plug in my bedroom with the scent Watermelon Lemonade and that is the officially scent of my place. Since then I bought another one, this time for the kitchen, and the lady who helped that day definitely knew how to sell me the Wallflowers Duo Plug, and I have no regrets. I have changed the scent of my room to the Comfort scent and my favorites for the kitchen are Watermelon Lemonade and Black Cheery Merlot (Future Hubby’s favorite scent). When I get home the first thing I do is inhale deeply to savor my good smelling home.

This product I think it may come as a surprise. Yes, one of current favorites is a Prep Solutions by Progressive Microwave Rice Cooker. Oh, how I love this thing! I have been telling everyone I can that they need one ASAP. I enjoy cooking, but I do not enjoy doing the dishes, and I usually wouldn’t make rice just so that I didn’t’ have to wash the pot after ir, plus I am going to be real, I still haven’t mastered the art of rice making (that’s Future Hubby’s thing, he knows how to make it, I do the pasta and other things). But with this my days of not cooking rice (at least white plain rice) are over. It’s so easy to use, the rice tastes good, and the best part, it’s easy to clean. I am serious, you need this in your life.

Another favorite is Harry Potter. Yes, I am still obsessed with it (you can read more about here). I don’t know what it is, but I love Harry Potter. One of my gifts from Future Hubby this past Christmas was the complete Harry Potter series. Since I am always reading books, and most of the time not finishing them, I did not wanted to start the series yet, because I felt that I had no time, but it was there tempting me every time I looked at my bookshelf, and finally I caved in. I am just finishing the first book, but if I was obsessed with the movies, I am going crazy with the book. To summarize it, more details, more to the story, more obsessed, end of story. Reading Harry Potter has me day dreaming about going back to Universal Studios in Orlando.

So, that’s it. I will love to know your current favorites, and also if you have suggestions of things I should try, please let me know in the comments section below.

Never Stop Dreaming,

♥ Steph

The Look: Color in the Comfort Zone

Posted on by Steph

It’s Spring, and that means color, but if you have read my past blogs you know I am a bit shy when it comes to incorporate color in my makeup, specially in my eye makeup. This time I didn’t went to far from my comfort zone, but I incorporated some color in there, I’m proud.

Since I received Morphe’s The Jaclyn Hill Palette I’ve been in love. And of course that is the palette I used to create this look.

Since I have gotten accustomed to only doing my face makeup, and a little bit of mascara for work I started this time with my face makeup, but when working with colorful or dramatic eyes I always recommend doing the eyes first. So that being said, I will star with explaining what I did with the eyes.

I first applied a little bit of concealer and powder as a base. I then went with “Creamsicle” a matte toasted orange eyeshadow in the crease. For the upper lid I used “Silk Creme” a matte cream, nude shade. Then I smudge a little bit of “Mocha” as eyeliner in the upper lid. Now the fun part begins. In the inner conner I used “Pool Party” a shimmery light blue, aqua shade. To finish this simple, but colorful look I first applied “Enchanted” in the lower lid, a matte dark green eyeshadow and then I blend it with “Jada” a matte emerald shade. Add a couple coats of mascara and done.

For the face I applied my foundation, concealer, I contoured and apply powder. I used a shimmery peachy blush and finished with some never missing highlighter. As for lipstick I used pinkish-nude lipgloss.

This was so much fun, I loved how it turned out. I liked incorporating color in the inner color, when usually what we tend to use there are light shimmering shades. I will definitely be using color in the inner conner more often.

Please tell me, how do you incorporate color in your makeup?

Products I used:

Eyes:

The Jaclyn Hill Palette by Morphe
Monsieur Big Mascara by Lancome
Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil by It Cosmetics

Face:

Super Stay Full Coverage Foundation in Sun Beige 310 by Maybelline
Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Light by Maybelline
HD Photogenic Concealer Wand in Cocoa by NYX Cosmetics
Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder in Medium by Maybelline

Cheeks:

Baked Blush in Wanderlust by NYX Cosmetics
Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in “Champagne Pop” by BECCA
Lips:

Infallible Lip Paints in Spicy Blush by L’Oreal

Never stop dreaming,

♥ Steph