Weekly Recap use to be a weekly thing I did on this blog and my previous lifestyle blog a few years ago. I recently haven't been able to find time to keep up with it that regularly so I stopped. It is something I would like to get back into, especially since these seem to be some of my favorite posts from other bloggers as well!

This weekend I got sick. 

And apparently a lot more than I thought happened, happened.

Sunday's lately have been for relaxing; which is nice. I usually end up rushing around on Sunday's getting homework and doing some chores done. This last Sunday we took a walk around a plaza we frequent and I was able to pick up the pretty pastel Ulta makeup bag they were giving out for free with a purchase of $20 in Ulta brand beauty products. I ended up picking up this palette on a whim but I am heavily excited about the quality! I can't wait to play with it!

In addition to celebrating the ten year death anniversary of my baby hamster Flix (I wish I had a post to refer back to about how much he means to me but I never wrote one on this blog --- goes to show I need to write more!), my mom informed me that my baby girl back home Chammy has passed. My mom doesn't like telling me these things... a few years ago I completely flipped out when I found out my first cat passed while I was living across the country doing an internship with Disney World. I took it really badly and it took me forever to heal. But my anxiety was at an all time high back then and my new husband was showing his true useless colors. It was just a bad time in my life.

Chammy was rescued in 2012. She was the runt of the two litters. She was really tiny but she loved food and she was very active as a kitten. Then one day she just... wasn't. She didn't play but she loved treats. She stayed tiny. She was always throwing up and sick but she was a happy girl who kept my mom company and was her little healer. Chammy lived to be 3 1/2 years, which is a hell of a lot longer than we thought she would make it. She will always be missed. She inspired me to adopt Sophie, since Sophie is so tiny and throws up a lot she reminded me of Chammy. I don't regret adopting Sophie no matter how much of a handful she is and we never regretted rescuing Chammy no matter what she got into. We love you Chammy girl, always.

I got a lot of loves the next few days from Jane and Sophie. It's nice to be surrounded by fur babies. This particular morning Nick and I woke up to toys from Jane scattered around. She likes leaving him toys at night. As if Jane could get ANY more adorbs, right?!

It's been nice this week. Nick has been watching a few vlogs lately and I'm hoping it'll inspire him to start his own... so he picked up the dSLR and played with it a bit.

I went with Nick to work on Thursday. I was having issues with my bank card --- honestly I was having issues with Bank of America since the day I signed up, I'm so done with them --- and I wasn't able to pay for my lunch. So I called my bank to see what was going on. I was on the phone for 45 mins. The lady who was taking my order ended up just giving me my meal for free. She was like "I was waiting for you to get off the phone to tell you I was just going to handle it for you, I'm not going to let anyone starve!" I was SO touched. Like, I was having a rough 24 hours and the fact that she did this nice thing for me seriously was going to make me cry. I was uber thankful for her sweet gesture. I love how when I'm feeling down and out a stranger always comes along and reminds me of why I shouldn't give up. It's the universe giving you little memos along the way, you've just gotta listen.

So to the kind lady at the bagel place, thank you SO much. You did so much more than you could ever imagine for me that day!

Managed to give this drink a try. Didn't realize that there was milk in it and ended up getting sick. Apparently my lactose intolerance has come back. Full force.

I also did a candle exchange at Bath & Body Works I was disappointed in. Usually if I do product for product even exchange it's not a problem. Candle for candle. But the lady at this store decided to scan the candles and went off their price. So for the two I went in to exchange she only let me get one. That's never in the years I've been shopping at BBW ever happen!! I love BBW but I've noticed lately that they haven't been that great with in store exchanges or customer service. I'm a little glad I've been loving Yankee Candle a bit more recently. They don't pull shady crap like that.

*edit. I just called customer service about it and they said I was suppose to get two candles for my two. Strange.

 I was hit with intense stomach pains for hours so Nick made me a fluffy nest on the couch and some creamy chicken soup. I couldn't move so I couldn't feed myself so he handed me Norman to help. Who's in worse shape than I'm in lol. He legit filmed the entire struggle of me trying to get this straw-to-soup thing to work though.

Woke up to this email! Nick and I made it on the Influensters email! How cool is that?!? You can watch the review we did here!

I can't get over the look on Sophie's face here. Nick grabbed her for kisses and she was struggling then she just... gave up. She looks like she's smiling but she also looked really really scared lmfao!

Of course all was forgiven with the help of her favorite food in the world --- cheese. She will literally jump on you for it. And steal it out of your hand.

Woke up with a migraine Saturday morning so decided to do some lightweight cleaning and laundry and lit candles around the apartment. Anything to make it more zen and peaceful. 

I'm loving this new scent from Bath & Body Works Spring collection this year. This was one Nick actually picked up and liked (he's totally anti BBW and pro Yankee Candle). Plus it's pink so it fits on my vanity prefectly. Also, I can never find my NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk. I swear every time I use it, it grows legs and walks away right after...

Here's to hoping I feel better soon!

I know everyone says this about every month but I mean... seriously. Can you believe it's already SEPTEMBER?! Because I sure as hell can NOT. I feel like I wait entire lifetimes for this month to come around because I just love it so much! 

September means Fall is right around the corner. Pumpkin Spice everything is coming out. The weather gets cooler (yes even here in Florida it does drop a little bit. But it's enough to get me excited!). Halloweeeeennnnnnn. Fall home decor, nuff said. Fall scents. Pumpkins. And everything spooky! It also means me and Nick have survived 5 months together --- without killing each other and Sophie's six month adoption day is this month! Yup! It's been six months since Sophie has found her forever home and she's very very loved here. Not just by Nick and I but also by Nick's sister and his mother. Little Soph has a legit family. 

It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts but since Fall is when I feel the most alive I figured why not start it up again!

I kind of have this thing where I love Leap Year. 

It always reminds me that life can tend to be messy, hectic and not go your way. And sometimes you need to just close your eyes, spin until you land in a direction and leap. I personally think that jumping not just into situations that scare you but doing things that make you think this is crazy is what really makes you get to know yourself better. Challenge yourself, reward yourself, trust yourself. Sure, maybe the path you picked will lead you into a dead end. Maybe it'll test you. Maybe it will be the best thing that's ever happened to you.

So what am I leaping for this year?

I've already made the switch to another school that honestly sort of scares me because of how focused it is on art and how serious it is about making your dreams come true. It's a little intimidating! Other than that, diving head first back into my business as well as into my blogs and working on content for my channels. But those are things I would had done regardless. 

So what is something I'm going to take blind faith in? What scares me?

And it is something I'm going to have to deal with some time this year and yes it does scare me no matter how many times people say I'll be fine. Still, never traveling by yourself then having to... it's scary. Especially when it's across the country with a lay over. I hate lay over's as it is!

Which I know is something that is already in the works (okay, crazy that all of these things are happening this year and I wasn't even aware it was a Leap Year until like a week or two ago) but it's still scary because you're leaving your "comfort zone" or your "comfort person" rather. 

And before I go, I just want to mention that today marks Flixie's 8th death anniversary (I think it's 8th) and I still miss him so much every time my anxiety gets really really bad. So I hope you're doing well, wherever you are and I'm still thinking of you fuzzy butt.

I know I'm technically suppose to be writing about this in my mental health blog but I figured, hazearella also has to do with my life so every now and then I will be sprinkling a bit of this and that here. 

It is now February. And Valentines Day is coming up pretty soon. In ten days. And this is the first year I'm without a Valentine and my mom isn't here to make it better. But I will brave through it. I will stay strong and eat my ice cream and marathon FRIENDS or The Mindy Project or One Tree Hill. I'll be fine. I won't go into a mental breakdown like I did on Christmas.

So today was my first time ever seeing a therapist about something other than OCD. I've done therapy before but mostly it was based around my OCD so I didn't spend so much talking about me exactly. The lady I met with was recommended by my MD and she's a marriage therapist. But there was no way he would go since  he thinks therapy is stupid so I went alone. It's better if I did, I needed to get a bit off my chest. So as I was telling her the story of why I'm sitting in her office, I mentioned the part where I wasn't allowed to meet his "BFF" nor was I allowed to visit him at work and she literally spit up her water back in her water bottle and her eyes went big "THAT is a red flag." *nods in agreement*. I had a whole hour with her in which I wouldn't shut up, but that's why you go, to talk. And she was very understanding and patient with me noting that I have a lot it seems that I need to work through, which I do. As ignoring it only increases my resentment. Unless it's days like this where I'm too tired to really care. I asked her for any tips on how to work on resentment and she basically told me that it's up to me to come to terms with it and let it go. 

But just like my mom suggested, I need to focus on me and loving me and taking care of me and being selfish enough to put me first. And it's hard. I think that's a trait I share with my mom and my brother, I always feel like I have to take care of something or someone. Like I just like helping I guess. But when it comes to me, I'm at a loss. And maybe that's part of the reason why I SHOULD take this time to myself. What would make me happy? What calms me down? What relaxes me? 

So I'll be seeing her again in four weeks --- alone. We'll see how this goes.

This passed week has been.... incredible! I didn't know it at the time but it would end up being my most important week of the year.

On Tuesday I had a hair appointment. I was suppose to get a red to purple ombre but after looking it up on Pinterest I decided on something else --- a deep wine color with blond peek a boo highlights. You can see the second picture on the bottom row, that's pretty much what I got. You can also see my amazing hair stylist Hannah who spent the whole FOUR HOURS talking with me. I had SUCH a blast!

The next day I attended my first ever Yelp Elite event. Which is crazy because I've been a Yelp Elite since 2011. I was super excited because this was in a museum and there was an entire room dedicated to dinosaurs. Yes, I geeked out. We got there early so we were able to snag a lot of good food and drinks and swag before everyone else came in and it became too crowded to even walk. I had so much fun! In the second picture on the top row is a picture of me and Colleen, the wonderful lady who invited me to Yelp Elite when I moved to Orlando the first time in 2011. She was such a pleasure to finally meet! Also on the bottom left, I got my first Henna Tattoo!! I've always thought about getting one when I'm in Vegas but I never do. I love the design the artist picked, especially the detail that goes down my middle finger, that part is my favorite haha. Then the top left is me laying on one of those half ball work out things trying to crack my lower back. My hair was touching the floor and I didn't even care. I wasn't anxious, I wasn't freaking out, I wasn't thinking of anything. I was so surprised (because of my OCD there is A LOT I have avoided in the last ten years) I took a picture to remember that moment. Where my hair laid crazy on the floor and I'm happy as can be. I can't even put into words what that was like!

I started a project I've always wanted to do --- fairy lights! You take tulle and tie it between bulbs and fluff it up. It looks really cool on the tree. And the lights aren't so boring. Now I want to turn all the lights we have into fairy lights lol! I did white sparkly tulle and a small strip of gold since the colors this year are white and gold. Which is actually hard to find! I kept finding silver and picking up silver! The heck! WHERE'S THE WHITE. LIKE YOU KNOW, SNOW?!

That weekend was my first WV RTE event and I was NERVOUS. Seriously. I didn't know what to expect but everyone we ran into was sweet and helpful. It was a 9 hour event and my mentor is always pushing me to go and now I see why. It was inspiring, eye opening, it gave me hope that I can do this. Not that I ever really doubted myself but sometimes when weeks, months, don't go your way, you start to get a little hopeless. But everyone who was honored that day gave the same advice never ever quit. The best is yet to come! And I would never think about quitting. Regardless of my status in this company one thing is for sure --- it has changed my life. The positivity, the people I get to work with, what we do... I have this amazing thing in front of me that I can grab a hold of and have the life I've always DREAMED of. I am so lucky to come across something like this. It's what I've been waiting for. Another girl had said If you ask for something, trust the process. And that's something a lot of people say trust the process. And with work like this, or with anything that is in your own hands you HAVE to trust the process. It'll bring you to where you need to be or want to go. Just keep the trust.

This passed week has been amazing and it makes me want to go out and do more things I haven't done. I'm trying to step outside of my comfort zone but it's hard to tell what is and isn't in my comfort zone. What scares me? What would challenge me? What do I want to try, accomplish or succeed at? What's something I want to learn? Somewhere I want to visit. Something I want to do?

I don't know about you, but I'm very excited to see what 2015 will bring! It can't be worse than 2014!