Month: January 2018

Anxiety, Mental Health

Mental Health Update; Chit Chat with me focusing on Social Anxiety

by alyssahotrumLeave a Comment on Mental Health Update; Chit Chat with me focusing on Social Anxiety

Hey my beauts, I hope you are all doing well! I have been doing really well lately in terms of my blogging channel/collaborations and also… shh… launching a clothing line that will be launched soon when details are discussed and finalized with my stepbrother, go follow him on Instagram at @nateslofstra!Β Unfortunately, I can not share too many details of this clothing line with you beauts yet, but do not worry! There will be a blog on it coming in the near future for sure! I am super excited to be given this opportunity and can not wait to share more details with you beauts!Β  So it has been a while since I have done a chit chat with me post on my mental health and given you beauts an update! So my anxiety has been better under control ever since starting my new job, I think it is for sure a more relaxed atmosphere, to say the least, which helps me calm down a lot. One thing that I have noticed that has started to peek up again was my Social Anxiety, unfortunately. One thing I am proud of for myself is that I noticed this right away. I have been very anxious lately when it comes to social events some things may include my eye contact is very limited when speaking to people, I get nervous in big crowds or at parties; again if I am sober this is more evident. I also just get nervous when it comes to just small talk conversations, this really gets me anxious for some odd reason. If you beauts have been keeping up to date in the past following my social anxiety journey, you are familiar that these certain things have been making me nervous over the years. Some of these things in the past include:

  1. talk with individuals one- on- one
  2. maintain eye contact
  3. manage anxious thoughts about what people think of me
  4. tolerating criticism
  5. express more in a job interview
  6. go to a party sober
  7. call people on the phone
  8. return an item to a store
  9. ask someone for help

So as you can see, there were a lot of social situations that would make me feel uneasy and anxious at times, and that is okay. A little recap for you beauts who were not following my social anxiety journey in the past. I attended a social anxiety group every Wednesday for 8 weeks which was two hours long in length. Basically, we worked out of a workbook and did different exposures to help manage and face our fears when it came to social anxiety. I absolutely loved this group, after the 8 weeks, I felt like a completely new person who was exceeding in life day by day. I literally felt on top of the world, that nothing could get in my way. I have to admit, the exposures and facing them head on were not an easy process, but I can proudly check off some things I have mastered on my list which is a great feeling!Β  I can now pick up the phone, make appointments, order a pizza or just have a simple conversation which in the past, made me super nervous and uncomfortable.Β  I am now able to speak on the phone with little to no nerves which is a huge step for me!Β  Another thing that I can cross off my list is that I can return an item to a store and usually ask for help depending on the situation! So there are a few things on my list that I can proudly cross off.Β  There are however things still on my list that I need a little bit of help with still. One of the biggest things for me would be maintaining eye contact and having one-on-one conversations. I do not know what it is about these but I just feel so uncomfortable!

I made an appointment with my therapist and told her some of the social situations that still made me feel uncomfortable and she recommended right away that I go back to my social anxiety group meetings again. I really liked this idea! I think that sometimes we forget how to manage our anxiety for some situations and it’s okay to get that reminder for sure! I need that extra help again, and I want to work and better myself for 2018 as this is my year. So beauts, I am signed up again for the Social Anxiety Group which will be starting in April of this year. This will be a 9-week program for those who experience a lot of fear and discomfort about social situations. Often this leads to avoidance of certain situations and I did not want that whatsoever. I want to be able to live life to it’s fullest without fearing every social interaction I have. So this will be held every Monday starting in April. I hope to be able to cross more things off of my list for sure which would be fantastic and rewarding.Β  I will be posting blog posts for every meeting held like I did in the past to help you beauts see the progress and to allow myself to see the progress I am making as well.Β  I hope these updates will help at least one person who may be suffering like I am. I can not wait to start this journey and process with you beauts again, and keep you up to date!

Remember, 2018 is your year to shine. Take control of it. Notice how you are feeling, and don’t push aside emotions. If you are struggling acknowledge it, and fight it. You are a fighter, and if a quiet shy girl like myself can do it, you can do it as well. You are never alone. Have a great rest of your week! Take care.

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Home Decor

“Crafts by Em”, Interview with Emily Jones

by alyssahotrumLeave a Comment on “Crafts by Em”, Interview with Emily Jones

Goodmorning my beauts, and welcome to my channel if you are new! I am so fortunate and blessed you decided to stop by and take a peek at my blogging channel and blog post! I have been back on track with my blog posts recently and have so much planned for you guys for 2018, I am so excited! I have particularly been super excited about this blog post in particular, as it is one of my closest family members and friends to me. I had the absolute privilege and opportunity to write a blog post and interview my cousin, Emily Jones, who is such a beautiful soul inside and out. Emily is 17 years old, grade 12, and has a passion for making crafts from her small business she created called, “Crafts by Em“.Β  She has been making crafts since a young age as she loves to be creative and design her own things. However, Emily just recently began making crafts to sell and has begun to take them more seriously. She officially began making her crafts last year. That is so amazing Emily, I am beyond proud of you for starting up your own business and doing what you love.Β  I have always said, ” just do it and start it“, you never get anywhere if you don’t start and just try it. I am super glad you decided to just go for it. That’s amazing.

I was very curious as to what inspired Emily to start doing her crafts and create her small business. Emily explains, “Well ever since I was young my mom always encouraged me to design my own things and pursue what I enjoyed most- which was making crafts. However, when I moved into my dads and his wife house the crafting and creativity came to a halt. A series of events took place at the end of the year of 2016, which resulted in me and my dad moving into a new home, and a new, fresh, healthy environment. I took this as an opportunity to start a new chapter in my life and start either old or new hobbies once again- and that’s when going on the app Pinterest became a daily routine just looking for basic crafts that I could redesign and make my own”.Β  Gotta love Pinterest! I absolutely love Pinterest when it comes to new designs and new inspirations. The site is absolutely wonderful and is full of so many ideas to recreate.

What kind of crafts do you sell Emily? “I sell a wide variety of crafts, and I continue to look for new things I can make ! My crafts include; cute, decorative clothes-peg picture hangers, jean mug coasters, self-drawn and designed porcelain mugs, self-drawn/designed mugs with handmade candles as well as Β handmade candles in mugs that I did not design myself and in small mason jar containers, mason jar night-light, plaid coasters, self-drawn/designed glass containers for eye-make remover pads, self-made/designed bead keychains. What I find unique about my crafts is that I customize any one of my products”.Β Β I absolutely love all the crafts that Emily sells and creates, they are amazing. She is one talented lady and is super creative in that department. It must take so much patience to create and make these crafts, something that I don’t have to kudos to you Em! You go Glencoco!

Since Emily makes a ton of different crafts, I was curious as to which one was her absolute favourite to make! Emily explains that she enjoys making all of her crafts,Β  but if she had to choose it would be her homemade candles in mugs or other unique that she finds. I do not blame her one bit! I would for sure have to say that these are one of my favourites as well, as they are absolutely adorable and you guys know me with my candles! I can’t get enough of them! I also began to ask Emily where she saw herself 5 years from now later on down the road. Emily states, “with my crafts, in 5 years I see my continuing with my tiny business. Whether I sell them or I give them away as gifts, crafting is my most favourite hobbies and is very therapeutic for me. However, in 5 years I plan to be in university so my crafting may be a tad procrastinated due to how busy I may be, but I don’t see myself ever stopping”.Β  That is honestly such dedication and I truly believe in you, Emily! I know you can do it if you set your mind and heart to it. You have a bright future ahead of you and I know great things are headed your way!

What are your short and long term goals for now? “My short-term goals, for now, are to continue to find new crafts to make that are unique and will get peoples attention. Another short-term goal would be to expand the popularity of β€œCrafts By Em” as I want to sell and make as many crafts as I can. Long-term goals would include working towards continuing my crafts because I don’t want to stop it as I have previously mentioned it’s threnodic for me”.Β  That’s amazing Emily, I know you will go far with your short and long-term goals. You are a very determined person and your business is going to expand for sure! I know for a fact that juggling school and work as well as maintaining a small business can be very difficult. I wanted to know just how Emily does it! Emily states, “Β juggling grade 12 homework, as well as working 24 hours on average at my part-time job letting alone throwing crafts into the mix is very difficult. Which again brings up the point that crafting for me relieves stress, which is why I always manage to have time for crafting. I usually craft on weekend though as I’m able to stay up later, but unless I have a week that isn’t busy, I don’t craft during the school week”.Β  I know for a fact that leaving time and room for your “me-time” such as your hobby or passion is extremely important. I ALWAYS make time for my blogging as it relieves stress for me as well just like Emily with her crafts. I think in order to keep your sanity this is so important. I give kudos for Emily for finding a happy medium and balance in her life to manage all of these things every day.

I was very curious as to who taught Emily how to make her crafts, or if she was self-taught. Emily explains, “no one taught me how to make crafts, it’s just something I kind of picked up on my own. I get annoyed with following instructions so I make everything with my own twist… including food which doesn’t always turn out the best lol. I just use my best judgement to make my own crafts!!”.Β Β  That’s amazing Emily you are so creative and artistic!Β  I hear you on the following instructions part, that is not always my thing, as I do not have the patience hahaha!

“You will be exactly as happy as you decide to be.”

What is one quote you live by?Β “Despite the negative things in life, there is also something good out of a bad situation, and if the situation isn’t something that you want, then you change it”.Β  I absolutely love this, and honestly have never heard of this quote before but it makes perfect sense and is so accurate by far. I am going to be keeping this quote in my head for a long time as I find it so relatable and important to go by in life.

What is a piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out with a small business?Β Β “A piece of advice I’d give to someone who is starting a small business is to know your audience- for example, when I started out my tiny business I thought I would have had more customers/supporters-family, friends or acquaintances. So don’t invest your money into something that won’t sell as I have put in at least a minimum over $300-$400 into my crafting”.Β  I completely agree with this 100%, and knowing your audience is so key! I have to know my audience with blogging as well.

I want to take the time to thank Emily for allowing me to interview her and her small company called, “Crafts by Em”. You can contact her through Facebook at Emily Jones and check out her crafts that she has made. You can also follow her on Instagram at “_jonesyy18_”, also on her craft page on Instagram at ” Crafts_byem_” so come spread some love on her pages! I love you to the moon and back Em and I know you are going to go far in life with your crafts and your small business.Β  I hope you beauts enjoyed this blog post, I have not done an interview for a while now so it was absolutely refreshing and I want to thank Emily again! Take care, xo.

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Collaborations, Fashion Finds

My Collaboration with “Rob Hayes Watches”

by alyssahotrumLeave a Comment on My Collaboration with “Rob Hayes Watches”

Hello my beauts, it for sure has been a hot minute since my last blog post that I have written mainly because I have been super busy with work and waiting for products to come in the mail! I did not forget about you guys don’t worry! I have recently started to do collaborations and reach out to jewelry and watch companies, mainly because I have always been a lover for these accessories and they look absolutely stunning on.Β  A watch is a girl’s best friend and literally completes every outfit possible. They are so fashionable, especially gold watches in my opinion. I decided to reach out toΒ  a company who specializes in Jewelry and watches and their company is called “Rob Hayes“. I was looking at their Instagram page and fell in love with the style of the watches right away! They were so fashionable and stylish, I absolutely loved the Roman Numeral look to them as well, this especially attracts me for sure. The company agreed to let me work with them which was amazing, and I was super excited to pick out a watch to receive. When looking online on their site , there were different watches to choose from such as: Gold/Gold Berkeley, Black/ Black Berkeley, Silver/ Silver Berkeley and lastly Silver/ Gold Berkeley. I specifically chose the gold one, because like I mentioned earlier, I absolutely love Gold watches and Jewelry, I think this looks unreal on.

“Unique and timeless watches with exceptional craftsmanshipΒ that will fascinate anyone”

The watches retail for $168.20 which is amazing considering the quality of the product you receive, and usually watches retail for around $400.00.Β  My watch took a short period of time to arrive which was great, and I received my tracking information as well. The company was very pleasurable to work with, and were very friendly as well! So I know you guys are dying to know a bit about the company and what not!Β  The founder and designer of the watches, Aladin Galjic, designed the watches in San Diego, California where he was heavily influenced by the vibe, happiness and the simplicity of life. Something about California gives off this phenomenon, and the company is trying to convey this feeling to customers through the watches and their designs.Β  The company all started when Aladin had a burning desire to create great things. During his programming studies, designing and creating different elements was also a part of his work. Aladin then met Robert Hayes. Aladin states, “a very special man that was once a soldier but made a pivot to pursue his dream in life. He was a man with a purpose that taught me that life is short,Β  and time should be dedicated toward doing things you love and that make you feel fulfilled. Pretty soon I realizedΒ  that I was not a designer , I was a creator. That’s when I started designing things I loved”.

“…Every worn Rob Hayes tells a story”

Aladin also explains, “Our journey took us back to our home city Stockholm, where we partnered up with jewelryΒ  and watch industry experts to finalize the drawings and start the quest for the finest materials and quality components. Ever since we fell in love with the Pacific Ocean breeze and the smell of California citrus trees, we’ve been on a mission to make timeless watches that will never go out of style“.

I absolutely love this, and the watches are stunning. The design is beautiful and classy. I absolutely love and adore my watch! It for sure is one of my statement pieces by far. I want to personally thank Rob Hayes Watches for allowing me to collaborate and work with them on this blog post!Β  Be sure to come spread some love on their page and check out their Instagram site at “robhayesstore“, you won’t be disappointed! Also be sure to follow my other social media accounts located on homepage for upcoming blogs in the near future! Take care! xo.

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