Small Aspirations

On March 7th, my best friend Brian lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Brian and I had been friends for twenty plus years, and throughout that time he dealt a lot with my confidence issues. He worked hard to make me see the positives instead of the negatives in life. That being said, you can imagine how much love and light he brought into my life. Now that he's gone I am on my own to keep myself from falling into negative self-talk. One thing I have decided to do is write small aspirations on sticky notes and place them on my mirror. Since I look in the mirror first thing in the morning while I am getting ready I have noticed that they have definitely made an impact on how I begin my day. That's why I wanted to add some light into your life by sharing 15 small everyday aspirations.

15 Small Aspirations
1. Smile a lot
2. Be happy
3. Step outside of your comfort zone
4. Discover a new workout class
5. Be passionate
6. Show love
7. Value nature
8. Be a goal digger
9. Laugh a lot
10. Compliment others
11. Be happy
12. Find the good
13. Care less about others acceptance
14. Reduce overthinking
15. Think "Yes I can"

8 Tips to Opening Yourself to Love

Where my single ladies at? This one is for you! I started writing this article in December, and was going to throw it at you in January and get all cheesy about how we make resolutions for so many things in our lives, why not resolve in matters of the heart. Then, I decided to step back from that aspect, at least the whole new years resolution cheesy part of it. If 2018 wasn’t your year in the relationship department, maybe 2019 is the time to refocus on you and what your heart needs. Here are seven tips that will help open yourself up to finding love.



1. Start with yourself
Write down all the good qualities you have as a mate and all your bad qualities. Pick two good qualities you want to improve that would make you even more attractive to potential mates. Now pick two negative qualities you can reduce or eliminate that will make you more attractive. 
I will give you two personal examples: my good quality is I am very caring and like to do little things for people that matter to me. My biggest negative quality is I have body image issues and constantly call myself “fat”, and dismiss compliments. 


2. Get off the dating apps and sites
Relationship sites claim that one in five relationships start online. That means four in five start offline. Follow the offs and get out there. Expanding your social circle, taking new workout classes…etc will increase your chances of finding that special someone. 



3. Clean up your living space
Prepare your space with the intent that you’re getting it ready to entertain a potential partner. If your space is dirty and cluttered, it conditions your mind to think that your space is not ready for someone and gives you the excuse not to meet potential suiters. 



4. Get rid of things that remind you of your ex…. thank you, next!
Your ex is an ex for a reason, if reminders are around they will trigger your mind to think about your ex instead of shifting your focus to meeting someone new and wonderful.



5. Know the qualities you want in a potential mate
Make a list of things you want and stick to it. Don’t waver your desires or compromise for someone just for the sake of being in a relationship. Wait for Mr. Right and not Mr. Right Now. 




6. It’s okay to be single
Being hard on yourself because you are single manipulates you into feelings of despair. Forgiving yourself creates hope for what’s to come and eventually feelings of happiness. Positive vibes are far more attractive than negative ones, so be kind to yourself.



7. Read the book The Five Love Languages (singles edition) by Gary Chapman
Learn what your love language is so you know what you require in a relationship. 



8. Listen
Most people love to talk, but few are really good listeners. When you pay close attention, you can learn so much about someone.

How to make a Sear-iously Awesome Steak

{this post is sponsored}

Who loves a good steak? Who knows how to make a good steak at home? Most importantly, who knows how to buy a good cut of meat? I’ll be honest with you, I used to be terrible at picking a perfect cut of meat. I would go to specific steak houses of hibachi restaurants just so I could get a good steak. That is until I went to a local grocery store with an amazing butcher her taught me everything I needed to know to make a delicious steak at home, and now I am going to share the details with you. Ladies, being able to make a steak at home is going to save you so much money. 

First you will need to make sure you have a cast iron skillet - this is the secret to amazing steak. You will also need salt and pepper, vegetable oil and of course steak. 

Good steaks include: ribeye, t-bone, strip, top sirloin. Chuck or Round is no good. Also filet mignon is good, however ribeyes are just as tasty and definitely cheaper. 

So let’s get to perfecting that steak.

First you will want to let the steak come to room temperature as well as heat your oven to  400 degrees Fahrenheit. If it’s frozen you will want to let it thaw in the fridge first. Season that baby! Rub salt and pepper into both sides of the steak. Heat the pan on high, add a teaspoon of oil and heat it until it smokes. Place the steak on the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, it should have some browning and come up off the pan easily. Don’t forget to flip it, and cook it for another 5 minutes.

Take the pan off the stove and put it in the oven. Now you have think about how you like your steak, that will determine how ,long it cooks in the oven for.
Medium Rare: 3-5 minutes in the oven

Medium: 8-10 minutes in the oven

Medium Well: 10-12 minutes in the oven


Once cooked to perfection remove it from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. This will ensure you have a ridiculously juicy steak… yum! Trust me, you’ll definitely love this recipe and not regret learning how to cook a steak sooner. 

Now let’s get back to talking about steaks and how to tell a good one. I highly recommend visiting a local butcher shop to ask them questions about meat cuts, and how to tell what a good piece of meet is.  Look into into butcher shop sarasota if you live in Florida, to learn about cuts and marbling. Butcher shops are able to physically show you the differences in meats, where I can really only do my best to explain them to you. In most cases you can get a reasonable piece of meat, and all the sides such as mashed potatoes (my favorite) for less then a meal at a restaurant. Let me know where you like to get your meat from and if you have any tips for me!