the waiting period.

Officially I have been in the "adult" world for five months; Really quickly, lets define the "adult" world. I say it is having a job that takes up most of your time, an 8-5 or if you are really ambitious you work longer hours or whatever, basically you are not in school anymore, your schedule is more set in stone & you actually have to think twice before going out on Thursday nights. 

There are a lot more things that define an adult- age, maturity, paying bills, doing taxes, setting back an IRA, stop watching Spongebob, you know the basics. 

Lately it has been a struggle because in my life, I am set in a half-way point. I have just been wavering in the water waiting for a set date to come along. Which I think is sometimes necessary to move forward; for example if you want your own apartment, you might have to live with your parents for one more year to afford that apartment. In my case, I wanted to move to Chicago but I needed to save some money and pick a date to move. So in this last five months I have just been waiting on myself, waiting on myself to commit to working two jobs, to pay off my last credit card bill from Europe, to decide that I can live without a few things and I can actually just load up my car with whatever fits and go. 

I have learned a few things in this waiting period:

I do not do routine well, forced routine, that is. I can commit to a workout routine and do it everyday, I can eat the same lunch every day but I will go crazy in a normal job, seeing the same people, printing the same reports, doing the same task everyday. It was weird because when I was in Europe; doing the exact opposite of an 8-5 job, I could not wait to come home and enter the working world. I had these thoughts because I am a people pleaser and I think it is impressive when someone has a full-time job that they love at a young age. I have learned this though: I do not have to have a job or even a life that appeases to what other people perceive as my success. In the most un-adult sense people can suck it. I have to remind myself of this everyday. 

I hate hate hate waking up before 6 AM- Please whatever job I get myself into in Chicago do not make me wake up before that hour. (I don't think that unreasonable) 

Sometimes, its okay to not get closure- with friendships or relationships. Sometimes the trying to get closure hurts more than you could possibly imagine.

I still think Zac Efron is sexy as hell. 

If things are right, they will happen. 

The second I turned 23----> hangover. Sad day when I have to think twice before drinking 16 bottles of wine, now my body won't be able to run, let alone move in the morning. 

As cheesy as it sounds, it is important for me and for you, whoever; to love yourself. forgive yourself. be in awe of being you because no one else is going to do it; no one will teach you how to love yourself. When I began loving myself a little better in these last five months, I started naturally leaving whatever wasn't healthy. To me its important to stop admiring the light and be the light. 

Waiting period, as awful as I think it has been, served a purpose. 

Cheers! 

Sierra 

love list

1. Currently obsessing over any room that is white; white couch, white bedding, white throws; If anyone was looking to kidnap me- just put me  please give me the coziest white wonderland room and I promise I will never leave. 

2. TrueNorthCollection Headbands: If you look at their page on Etsy, you can see all of their cute options and they are only $7.00. I love headbands, however I always feel like I look more cone headed than happy go lucky in a headband- with the exception of the TrueNorthCollection. These headband are thick and DO NOT SLIP, which I think is super important if you like to wear headbands while working out. The material is soft and silky and overall they are great little headbands.

3. NICKEL & SUEDE earrings: They are the cutest earrings ever- I found their site on instagram and have been eyeing them ever since. I have not actually bought any earring because there are so many options and I cannot commit to the ones I want but I plan on buying some in the near future. 

4. Perfect Fit Protein- I have actually been obsessing over anything and everything ToneItUp related, if you have not heard about ToneItUp their website is actually worth checking out- especially if you are trying to get fit for the summer or just for life. I like their protein because they offer a ton of recipes to make! Last night I made their PerfectFit Protein Pancakes and I plan on making their Cherry Tart tonight, I have yet to try it in a smoothie (so I plan on doing a separate ToneItUp post all together)

5. AdoreMe.Com I have never been into lingerie or any matching bra and pantie set- It is shocking if I make it out of the home with a real bra on... (Team Sports Bra) I received the Valentine VoxBox from Influenster and it came with a free set of lingerie, my choice, from AdoreMe.Com - AdoreMe is similar to fabeletics.com or justfab.com where you sign up for a membership and get a monthly set of (clothing/shoes/workout gear) for a set price. I like the bra and panties I ended up with- they are comfortable and super cute! The site is helpful by giving you a small test when you sign up to figure out what kind of lingerie you would like. AdoreMe might have changed me. I received these products free from Influenster but all the opinions are my own. 

6. Adulting: how to become a grown-up in 468 easy(ish) steps or less: I have been reading this book off an on for the past week, it is an easy read and extremely helpful if you feel like you need to get your life together- it covers everything from cooking & dating to friendships & etiquette. Its a nice read when you feel like you don't have time to read.