The Pretty Little Secret Blog
My secret little bubble.

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The New Do.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

There is something SO freaking therapeutic about a new haircut. It's empowering.   
The whole process a like a beautiful Pintrest-quotey metaphor.  You go in with all of the dead ends, the unhealthy locks, and you walk out with a fresh new healthy feeling do! Out with the old, in with the new. Am I right?? Ahh if only life were that simple. 
And what is it about hairdressers?! Do they teach some sort psychology course in Beauty School? It's the best type of therapy session. My stylist (Jenny...bless her) and I  had a long discussion about life. She patiently listened to me as I explained to her my quarter-life-crises situation, to which she responded with a lot of intelligent advice. It's oddly comforting to know that there are other people who struggle of have struggled with the same problems as you. 
Basically what I got out of my haircut/therapy session with the wise Jenny was that sometimes you just have to take risks and put yourself out there. It's Ok to feel lost. No one knows what they are doing half the time anyways. Just find something that interests you and dive in.
Not bad advice huh?

XO,
Mimi


Our River Adventure

Monday, August 24, 2015

Happy Monday! 

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. 
Saturday we spent the day running errands, which was pretty unexciting until we passed a new thrift store. Obviously we had to check out! 
I found these two beautiful vintage vases for a whopping $1.99 a piece...boy do I love a good thrift store! The textures are fantastic, and I really like the scalloped edges. I haven't decided how I'm going to use them yet, but I am sure I will figure out something!  

 

The day ended with an adventure to the river with the pups. We had such a lovely time exploring, splashing, and getting muddy. The combination of the gorgeous weather and the beautiful scenery made me really miss camping. 




I love my little family with my whole heart.

How was your weekend?

XOXO, 
Mimi

Take A Walk

Monday, August 10, 2015


One of the things that I have been trying to work on this week is getting outside. The weather has been perfection, which can be a rare phenomenon for North East Ohio. 
When I was younger my siblings and I basically lived outside. From the moment we woke up to well past when the sun went down we were outside-especially in the summer. We would let our imaginations run wild playing anything from pretend zoo to pretend house. I remember during one summer we created our own Hawaiian themed summer camp called Camp Hula Hula. (the shows Bug Juice and Johnny Tsunami were big then) We set up our tents in the backyard and camped out for a few days with our cousins and neighborhood friends. It was legit, we even had a bonfire and leis. :) 

As I have gotten older, I've lacked on my outside time. (This is where that whole making excuses bit come into play) However, I made a conscious effort to get outside for at least 30 min every day last week, and I have to say that the results have been fantastic. There is nothing like fresh air. I feel so calm and at peace when I am outside, so anytime that I have felt stressed of anxious I go for a walk with the dogs. It really helps to clear my mind and put things back into perspective, plus the dogs love it! 

It has also made me realize that Cleveland has some pretty fantastic Metro Parks. I have lived here for three years, and have never really taken advantage of the beautiful trails. It makes me really excited for fall, when all of the leaves start to change. 



XO, 
Mimi


My Journey Towards A Happier and Healthier Me

Friday, August 7, 2015




Have you ever been in an unhealthy relationship? Though the situations vary, the signs are always the same. We find ourselves making excuses even when we know it is wrong. Denial becomes the norm and you have to convince yourself that you are happy so often that you eventually start to believe it. However, there is always this feeling of reality in the pit of your stomach that you can never completely get rid of, so you try your best to suppress and bury it down.

There is always that moment when we reach our breaking point. All of the sudden we become sick of all the bullshit. The excuses don't work anymore and the reality that you buried for so long bursts out and smacks you right in the face. You start to see things from a different perspective. It's almost like a veil has been lifted from your eyes. Enough becomes enough, you are only human and you can only take so much. 

What do you do when you have the humbling realization that the unhealthy relationship in your life is the one that you have with yourself? You step back to see all of the excuses and the denial. Then, just when you've had enough, out bursts that slap of reality right in the face. The reason that you have been so unhappy isn't where you live or what you are doing, it's you. You are your own biggest obstacle.  

For the past three years I suffered with a serious case of quarter life crisis. I graduated and moved across the country to a new city. I won't go into detail, but long story short I started to feel lost and extremely unhappy. I fell into a depression, and things got pretty bad. However, I reached my breaking point. I don't remember what prompted it, but I do remember the moment where I thought to myself, "I don't want to live like this anymore."  The first step to fixing every problem is to first acknowledge that there is a problem. It sounds so simple, but I had to take responsibility for how I was feeling. Up until that moment I had blamed my unhappiness on everything else that was or wasn't happening in my life. 

We are responsible for our own happiness. Accepting that responsibility is both humbling and empowering.  I can definitely tell you that it's not easy, but once you do it changes everything. 

O.K. 
So, now I am ready to get out of my own way and start living my life.
 I have decided to use my little blog as a diary to keep track of my progress.

Step 1: Take responsibility for my own happiness...check. 



XO,
Mimi