BREAKFAST LECTURES & I GO TO AMERICA

Hi friends,

What time is it? Time for an exciting life update (woooooo-zz). I added the z’s at the end because I’m exhausted, and right when this post goes up I’ll be tucking myself warmly into bed. LEGGO!

Last week I went to CreativeMornings at the offices of Shopify. CreativeMornings are breakfast lectures by creatives, for creatives, where you listen to a speaker discuss career advice and valuable life lessons they have learned to get them where they are today. I had the privilege of listening to Jacqui Oakley, a freelance illustrator who spoke of fear, anxiety and how to not let it consume you/steps to incorporating it into your daily life.

Sometimes, you can’t help feeling scared or anxious and most of the time it can attack you unexpectedly. Oakley broke down how she dealt with moving to different countries when she was younger, her artwork being constantly judged and being confused about what to do next when it comes to progressing in her career. The best advice she gave was the steps to take when you’re anxious about starting a tough project. Starting is always the hardest part, do the hardest task first and the easy stuff later. You’re more likely to keep going on a project when it gets easier as you go.

I agree, if you’ve ever wanted to start or do something, stop making it an idea and take the first step. You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.

The summary of the lecture in the visual below. An artist drew this mural as she spoke, pretty cool.

P.S. the Shopify offices has a cat wallpaper. Where does one purchase..

Moving right along, on the Lotus Leaf Style Blog we teach you how to make the PR #SuperSmoothie, breaking down each ingredient and why PR mavens will love this healthy treat. Find out all the details by clicking, HERE.

Now, let’s talk about this weekend! My cousin Melissa and I went to Buffalo for a fun day of shopping and super sizing everything we ate because, why not? ‘Merica.

It was the first time I drove over the boarder and (don’t laugh), we had to practice what I was going to say to boarder patrol officer..they’re scary ok! A few moments before driving up, this happened..

Following breakfast at Denny’s, we made our way to the outlet malls and burned a few holes in our wallets. Actually, we didn’t purchase too much, Melissa treated herself to a purse at Kate Spade (lucky gal) and I bought few additions to my Spring wardrobe from Forever 21, GAP and Francesca’s (new fav store, btw).

The best part of the entire trip was: The Cheesecake Factory. I’ve never been before, blasphemy I know. We shared a S’mores cheesecake and omggggggg, WHERE HAS THIS PLACE BEEN ALL MY LIFE? Oh yeah, in another country, nvm. I actually contemplated ordering the cheesecake because I felt too full from dinner. Melissa spewed, “I did not raise you to be like this!” So, we ordered one slice..actually..we ordered four (additional Snickers cheesecake, lemon meringue cheesecake and apple streusel cheesecake..to-go please). NO REGRETS!

That moves us to today. My half-marathon is in less than 60 days, and I’m feeling..not ready, at all. My 10K run tonight was good, I felt great and went a decent pace, but I’ve been feeling a little stressed as of late and running has become harder since I have a lot on my mind. Running is a mental game as it is physical, and you have to be in the right headspace to do it successfully. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally fine, but I feel like I’m going through a lot of changes and I’m learning how to deal with it.

As Oakley taught me, put fear and anxiety into certain places and work it into your life rather than pushing it away. I’m doing my best, and I know I’m going to be fine. If anything I’m learning a lot, and I’m looking at the positive aspects of stress and anxiety so I can feel it out and work it into my day-to-day routine.