The first time I heard about the Law of Attraction was when I was in Middle School and it was the day before Thanksgiving break. My Social Studies teacher put a movie on for everyone to watch, but we were all too busy talking to each other about our holiday plans. I hardly tuned into it myself and only remembered bits of it.

    Years later, I met Dimitar and he wanted to show me a movie that he said inspired him. As the movie played that night, I realized I had seen the movie before; It was called, The Secret. The Secret changed my life, and yes, in a dramatic way. It's concepts made me aware of my thoughts, both good and bad, and it helped me take control of my life. The movie itself inspired me to focus on my own self-development, something I had seriously lacked.

    If you haven't watched The Secret yet, watch it today! It's a movie you really don't want to miss. It's a chance you don't want to skip out on. It's the answer you may very well need to set you free from all of your worries and obstacles. It's the start of a beautiful journey. 

The Secret

    The Secret covers the Law of Attraction, simplified for beginners. It states that we are energetic beings, surrounded by energy that can be found in everything - so we must utilize our own inner energy to create a world that we enjoy being part of. Plain and simple; like attracts like and negative attracts negative. That's it. 

    As the movie explains, the more we think negatively about something or someone, it backfires onto us and we get more or the same thing that we dislike. However, if we were to live our lives appreciating everything and everyone, and focusing on our deepest desires, greatness will only come our way. The best way to describe human beings is that we are magnets; attracting either good to us or bad, depending on our thoughts and feelings. 

    I was inspired by The Secret immediately. Growing up surrounded by hardship myself, there were times where I refused to be a victim of my own past and it was because of my own perseverance that made me rise above my challenges. It was my way of thinking that helped me see past all of the trauma I had endured growing up, and it helped me take charge of my own strength. 

    To practice the Law of Attraction, I made a cautious effort to be more mindful about my thoughts, feelings, and actions. I was normally optimistic in general, but there were times where the three would get to me. The more I practiced though, the more I started to see the world before me as a product of my own imagination. It sounds silly, yes, but what if we lived our lives more like we were the writers? What if we lived our lives like we were the ones writing the script and we could change it at anytime? That's how I started to feel when I began to practice the LOA.

    This new way of being made me feel like I was in control of my life and it was amazing. I carried myself differently, I was able to achieve more of my goals, I learned to let go of negativity, and my relationship with money even improved. Yes, it did take some time to see the hard work pay off, at least a year, but the dedication was worth it. 

   So you may be asking yourself, how does the Law of Attraction help me in my daily life? Well, if you're looking for a job, the LOA helps you stay positive and brings you more opportunities because you believe they will come. If your health is low, the LOA helps increase your immune system since stress is the number one cause of our immune system failing us. If your romantic relationships have all but failed, the LOA helps you appreciate yourself more because in return you know you can only get love back if you're also giving it to yourself first. The Law of Attraction isn't just a saying about magnets; it really is a lifestyle.

    After you have watched The Secret - there is also a book too if you enjoy reading - take time out of your day to identify your deepest desires and write them on one side of a blank piece of paper. Afterwards, divide the paper in half and write down your concerns on the opposite side of the paper. You may find that you have many concerns and little desires. You may find that you have equal amounts of both. Or, you may see that you have many desires, and little concerns. The point of this exercise is to realize your current mental state so that you can eventually let go of your concerns and focus on your desires.

    Once you have identified your desires, you can now focus on how you can achieve them. Some people think that just by thinking alone your desires will manifest, but this is far from true. Our thoughts and our feelings are equally one with our actions. For example, if you're looking for a job and you're optimistic you'll find one, searching and applying for jobs daily will make it easier for you to get positive results. If you don't however, how will any employers find you? You see, you have to put action into the LOA to complete it's cycle. Just like the LOA gives back to us, we have to give back to it as well.

    So, if you have some time to spare today and you watch The Secret, or you can read the book, do commit yourself to it. It really is a life changing experience that I know you will be grateful for.

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

    I wouldn't call myself an avid wine drinker. Occasionally, I will have a glass of wine here and there or I'll find myself browsing through the wine section of my grocery store, clueless of what I'm looking at  before grabbing the cheapest wine I usually get.

    Lately though, Dimitar and I have been thinking more about wine and how we can enjoy it while watching X-files from our new couch; the only problem is that we didn't have any wine glasses and usually drink from our coffee mugs; tough times indeed. Well finally after looking hard in the mirror, we decided to do some shopping around to find the perfect wine glass set for our first apartment.

    It actually wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be and it took several shopping trips for us to find the one. We shopped around at several stores like; Marshalls, TJmaxx, Ross, and even Walmart. Majority of the wine glass selections had glasses that were too thick and heavy, the bowl of the glass itself were too large and looked awkward in my hands, or I just didn't like the shape. Who knew I could be so picky?

    One day we were inside HomeGoods, a home department store in the USA, and we were close to giving up our search for nice wine glasses until I decided to look at one last set before leaving the store; we found the one!                                                      

Bormioli Rocco 18oz Red Wine Glasses Set

    The Bormioli Rocco Red Wine glasses comes in a set of 6 glasses which is perfect for us and any guests that may come over. You can use these wine glasses for many red wines including; merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot, and even Bordeaux. Whether they'll be used for simple gatherings, parties, or just having a relaxing evening while watching your favorite movies, these elegant glasses are ideal for all lifestyles.

    Another great feature of these wine glasses is that they're made in Italy too; a country I so desperately want to go back to for it's beauty, delicious food, and hospitality. 

Bormioli Rocca Glasses Made In Italy

    When it comes to cleaning, I always hand wash delicate glassware last. I have a very bulky sponge for washing dishes, but even my sponge was able to wash the inside of these glasses with ease. I found being very gentle while gripping these glasses to be vital to avoid breaking them. After washing them, I leave them out to air dry upside down, away form high traffic areas.

    I have read many reviews of buyers complaining that their glasses break in the dishwasher, or that they're flimsy in general, but I haven't found this to be the case for me. If you take extra measurements when handling and cleaning these glasses, these glasses are actually fairly sturdy. Since I bought these glasses in store, I didn't have to go through the shipment process, so if you want an ease of mind, you may want to try shopping at your local HomeGoods store.

Look at the design - so lovely!

    Overall, I am quite impressed with these glasses and I am more excited than ever about drinking wine. I now take the time to be more involved when it comes to buying wine so I can truly find wine that I can enjoy with these glasses; so far, I discovered that I really like bourbon barrel aged red wines, specific brands being; Layer Cake and 1924.

    So, if you're looking for classy wine glasses that look and feel great with every sip, Bormioli Rocco Red Wine glasses are perfect for everyday wine drinkers. 

Enjoying our new wine glasses

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

    To everyone who knows me, I love, love, love taking care of my hair. I keep my hair long because I feel my best that way. For the longest time, I rarely dyed my hair and trimmed it pretty regularly so it was healthy. Every week I'd spend an hour blow drying my hair on the lowest setting so that it was silky throughout the entire week. Two years ago though, I went blonde for the first time ever and it did a ton of damage to my hair. Now that my hair is growing out and I'm giving it extreme TLC, what matters most to me now is my water source. 

 * This post may contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you. See disclosure for more details.

* This post is not sponsored.

    Around the time of going blonde, Dimitar came to me and asked me why we didn't have a filter for our showerhead. After all, we use a filter for our drinking water, it only made sense to have a filter for our shower head. So, we bought an Aquabliss Shower Filter and the results left both my hair and skin feeling completely renewed. My hair felt smoother, it blow dried much faster, and my skin appeared less irritated. 

    Now that we've moved though, we've completely forgotten about getting a new filter and it couldn't have come at a better time. The water in our apartment reeks of chlorine (commonly used as an disinfectant) and we also have hard water on top of that - as a result, my hair is left dull looking and my skin has become more sensitive. For those who don't know what hard water is, hard water is found in most households and has an abundance of minerals in it to make water safe to drink. Even though hard water is not harmful to our bodies, I honestly would prefer to live without it; plus, I'm not a fan of fluoride. 

Aquabliss Shower Filter: infused with beneficial properties

    The Aquabliss Shower filter comes with a range of beneficial properties worth having. It's filter is divided into parts that serve a specific role to help aide in giving you a cleaner showering experience without the harsh chemicals. The filter has infused Vitamin C which is great for combating aging and uneven skin tone, Zeolite which is a volcanic mineral used for detoxing the body of heavy metal exposures, Tourmaline stones that have unique healing properties, and other beneficial minerals. 

Aquabliss Shower Filter restores your hair, skin & nails

Unboxing the Aquabliss filter

    Setting up the Aquabliss Shower Filter is extremely easy. Inside the box you'll find; the showerhead filter, plumbers tape, two screen washers, an adapter head, 2 replacement bands for the filter itself, and a small pamphlet with instructions inside. You may also need a wrench to unscrew and tighten your preexisting shower head.

    

Aquabliss Instructions

       Next, with your plumbers tape, wrap it around the base of the shower arm 2-3 times clockwise. This will help prevent any water from exiting the showerhead. From there you insert one of the screen washers on the base before you screw on the Aquabliss filter. Once the filter is attached, you then insert the second screen washer on the other end of the filter before you screw on the adapter. Last, attach your shower head to the adapter and make sure it's tight enough to prevent any leaks. 

    

Aquabliss Filter Attached

    And that's it! During most of my shower routines, my skin is normally wrinkly within a short amount of time due to the excess amount of chlorine in the water, but now that I have a filter on, I don't have this issue. Plus, I can hardly smell the chlorine! 
    The Aquabliss filter will last anywhere from 3-6 months depending on how hard your water is and how much chlorine is present in your water. So if you have any doubts, it's worth buying a kit to help you measure the hardness of your water and chlorine levels.
 
    All in all though, it's worth investing in filters such as the Aqualbliss Shower Filter because who wants to be exposed to harsh chemicals? I know I don't. 
Until next time! xoxo - Sarah 

    Christmas is around the corner and as I mentioned before in my post about decorating my Christmas tree, I believe Holidays push us all to do more celebrating in life. Everything about Christmas excites me; the colorful ornaments, cheerful music, the anticipation of snow, and even wearing lovely jackets because I sure have many to choose from!

    * This post may contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you. See disclosure for more details.

    Since buying our first Christmas tree, which by the way, is actually our second Christmas tree and you can read about that here; we really wanted tour tree to look clean and luxurious. Originally I wanted to get white garland to wrap around the tree, but Walmart didn't have the best ones so instead we bought rose gold garland which turned out better than expected. We also bought warm lights to wrap around the tree, glitter snowflakes, mini bells, and red and silver twigs as accents. The end results were perfection!

    In todays post, I wanted to share my favorite Christmas tree ornaments; some being from Walmart and the others being from Tysons Corner Mall, a store called A Christmas To Remember. We also bought these ornaments in person, so some many not be available online. 

Corgi Personalized Ornament - A Christmas To Remember

    The first ornament I love is this Corgi Ornament. Since our apartment doesn't allow us to have dogs - so sad - I figured I'd simply stock up on everything Corgi related. When I saw this ornament, I knew I had to get it. I also had no idea that I could personalize it too and since I've already had plenty of time to think of names for my future Corgi, I went with, "Amigo," which means "friend" in Spanish. You can find a similar one here.

White Paper House - Walmart

    Since 2021 was the year where Dimitar and I got our first apartment together, of course we had to get this paper house ornament; I especially love the trees in the front! I do wish we were able to personalize it with the year "2021", but maybe at some point I can simply put a label on it. When Dimitar and I first saw this tiny house ornament, we immediately got it so that we could look back and remember our progress as a couple. You can find a similar one here.

White Glitter Unicorn - Walmart

    Dimitar surprised me with this white unicorn ornament that he found as we were browsing in the Christmas aisle of Walmart. He said it reminded him of me so he wanted to buy it. At the time, I simply say yes because it was so cute, but now that I think about it, I do have a book called The Unicorn & The Lake by Marianna Mayer which greatly influenced me as a child. It was one of my favorite books to read when I was little and to this day I still love it. I'm so happy Dimitar found this ornament! You can find a similar one here.

Glitter Crab - A Christmas To Remember

    My mom, who passed away in 2020, was a proud Cancer sign. It was hard picking out an ornament that fit her best because there were so many that made me think of her. I settled with this beautiful glitter crab as it was not only blue - my mom's favorite color - but it represented her well since she embraced her emotions and was never afraid to be herself. My mom was bold, yet caring, small but mighty. Sometimes when I look at the tree and I see this tiny crab peering our from under the branches, it reminds me of my mom's delicate energy and her love for natures finest elements. You can find a similar one here.

Pink Gingerbread House - Walmart

    This ornaments caught my attention because of the candy canes on it. When I realized it was a gingerbread house with a tiny gingerbread girl on it, I grabbed it right away. It's actually on the heavy side too, but since it's prompted on a branch, it keeps itself up just fine. I also enjoyed this ornament because it looks handmade, something that has made me consider making ornaments myself.  You can find a similar one here.

Xbox Controller - A Christmas To Remember

Colorful Christmas Tree - Walmart

Nutcracker - Walmart

    Nutcrackers are a classic for Christmas! There were many different colors that I could have gone with, but the red seem to fit with the rest of the colored ornaments that we had on the Christmas tree. Even though the tree was mostly white, silver, and rose gold, the specs of red really brought the tree together. Also, Dimitar really liked the red one too so we bought it. You can find a similar one here.

Alphabet Glitter Ball w/Bow - Walmart

Pine Cone Mistletoe - Walmart

     Dimitar really liked this ornament - which actually reminds me that we still have to get scented pine cones to put on the tree; can't forget about those! I love that this ornament has a bell on it too; so now, every time one of us bumps into it, the tree will make a cute jingle noise.  You can find a similar one here.

Our Paricon Steel Runner Sled

I hope your Christmas tree decorating  time is a joyful one and lets all wish for snow this year!

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

  Our truth defines us. It's the very thing that makes us complete and gives us purpose in a world of so much diversity. It's a gift that all of us have to offer and one that can never be taken away. Truth, when valued at it's deepest core, is the one gem in all of us that opens our eyes to what matters most when the world at large struggles; it's a gift personalized for only us.

    I've learned so much in these past few years about embracing my inner truth that it has left me both grateful and helpless at the same time. As much as we adore a person who is capable of being themselves, it is exhausting. As rewarding as living a life completely dedicated around our own values and principles is, it can also be lonely and disheartening when the world around us isn't as welcoming.

   As wholesome as our inner truth may be, it is a scary place to put ourselves in at first. I used to live my life in a bubble protected by my fears of expressing myself emotionally and it wasn't until I was fed up with the toxic patterns repeating in my life - that I let my truth be known; to my partner, friends and relatives, coworkers even. It shook me from within and left my mind racing, but I felt lighter knowing that I had made my mark on the world and more confident .

    After years of struggling to coexist with my own inner truth, I have now learned to accept it because in doing so - I would be accepting myself. I realized that the more I resisted being true to myself, the more toxic scenarios would appear in my life. That's when it became clear to me; it wasn't my situation that was toxic, it was my inability to utilize my truth that was. It was my fear of going against the grain.

   You know when people have an a-ha moment - the world appears brighter to them and it starts to make sense? Well, when I started to utilize my own truth - for small things like confronting my landlord for maintenance or being direct with a manager about what is and isn't working -  I too started to see the world through a brighter lens. Sure, it was still scary to put myself in those situations because I was vulnerable to rejection or someone else's judgement, but at least I was myself and that's all I needed for my life to increase in value. 

    Facing my truth helped me improve my life on so many levels. It helped me find better jobs, improved my relationships - even if it meant letting some go, I ate healthier, devoted myself to my passions, made peace with my own pains, and it allowed me to empower myself so that I could pursue my dreams. It's not easy discovering who we really are - but it's a side of us that will make way for a life dedicated to giving back to us.

    Instead of sacrificing our happiness for convenience; we endure the pain and fears of doing what feels right. Instead of letting our jobs and career get the best of us; we commit ourselves to our passions. Instead of always saying no, yes, or nothing at all; we try the opposite and do so with conviction. Instead of letting yourself endure toxic relationships; stand your ground and voice your standards. If you don't speak your truth or try, someone will lead you on with their own truth, regardless of if it resonates with you or not.

    At the end of the day, we have to look out for ourselves and our inner truth is a great place to start. By letting yourself shine with your greatness, you create a space in this world for you to live comfortably without restrictions. Once you accept yourself for all you have to offer, you free yourself from any fears and you become limitless.

    So take a chance and find your inner truth; you will love what you find.

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

 Every year, Dimitar and I try to go camping. We first started camping several years ago and since then, we can both now say we can start a fire; our first time trying left us with no firewood - so funny! This year however, because of the move and settling in, we just haven't been able to consider going. Since the weather is getting colder, and we really missed the experience of being outdoors, we made our reservations at our favorite park and began to prepare for our trip.

Our camping gear - we still forgot some items

    Our reservation were for two nights. Originally we were going to stay one night because of the piggies and the cold, but after some arrangements we made, we decided on two nights. We pulled out all of our camping gear from the storage and organized everything; I even made a list, but deep down, I knew we'd forget something; we always do. Since camping is often gritty and testing of ones simplicity, I baked a pizza for us to enjoy for dinner. Since I wanted to have soup while there, I chopped up some vegetables and prepared a seasoning so that I could make the soup once we arrived. I was so excited!

   Before leaving for the park, we had to go grocery shopping to stock the cooler with goodies; I wasn't going to do a keto diet while camping since the weekend was normally my time to splurge which I was very much looking forward to. After our shopping, which took awhile, we finally went to the park and checked ourselves in. Also, both my phone and my camera batteries were both charged before leaving and all of the batteries ended up dyeing; so weird since this happened the majority of the trip!

    We arrived at Pohick Bay Park and checked in at about 4 o'clock; pretty late since the sun goes down around that time! We also picked up our firewood before making our way to our campsite and figured out that for winter time, it's best to get at least four to six  bundles of firewood for two nights. Dimitar and I have written down the best camp sites throughout the park and every year we always try to go to different ones; this year we picked #56. 

Pohick Bay Family Campground & Park

    Since the sun was close to setting, we tried to be diligent. We managed to put up the tent quickly but it was setting up the fire that took the longest and was the hardest to maintain since our memory on how to arrange the firewood was a bit faint. By the time we had the fire going, the sun was completely down, and it looked like we were in a Blair Witch Project movie! So creepy.

    We stayed up late that night pigging out on smores, pizza, and listening to christmas music; after that we then listened to ghost stories which didn't help after me talking about the Blair Witch Project movie. It was also pretty cold and neither Dimitar and I wanted to leave the fire so we stayed up for as long as the fire stayed burning; about 11pm. 

    When the fire burnt out, we both hit the tent. We had a new camping bag that we were excited to try out, SleepInGo, and many people reviewed that it had a decent insulation rating for colder seasons. Well, even though it was very spacious, I had to wear multiple layers to stay warm the entire trip, including 3 socks, 2 layers of clothing, a hat, and a fleece blanket on top of us; it wasn't fun but it kept us warm. Of course, this was all probably due to the fact that our tent wasn't winter friendly and had mesh walls, so we've made a reminder to get a new tent!

    

Our tent with top off - not winter friendly!

    

    That night I woke up with a kink in my neck and had weird dreams that left me waking up crying; so weird! Dimitar had to stop by the apartment to check on the piggies and to also get some of the items that we forgot; the canopy, can opener, our camping pillows, and a pot to cook my soup in. The whole process took about 40 mins. While Dimitar was gone, I entertained myself by doing my makeup, vlogging around the campgrounds, and reading. It was so peaceful to hear the crows around me chatting away as I read my new favorite novel, "Circe," by Madeline Miller.

Comfort Station

Hand Washing Area

Left: Stalls | Right: Showers

    When Dimitar returned, I put the soup on the fire and warmed up his beans; the weather really improved at this point and everything around us became orange, it was so magical! Since I was making my soup from scratch, I had to wait 40 mins for my soup to cook but I was able to sit back and admire nature's beauty and let myself be grounded. Fall is my favorite time of the year because of all the colors and it was surreal to be surrounded by it all. Nature is one of the purest gifts that one can immerse themselves in and it's everywhere for us to enjoy.

Waiting for my soup!

    After I ate - finally - we geared up for a trail walk and drove to the trail entrance which was only a few yards away from our campsite. At this point my phone and camera both died on me so I was left to use Dimitar's phone; it made me wonder if there was a ghost around because my batteries just wouldn't stay charged! 

    

Beautiful trails

    We got back at the camp site just in time to cut more firewood and start the fire before the sun went down. As a treat, we made ourselves more smores because... why not? The fire we made this time around was so much better too and lasted the entire night without going out; all we needed was a fresher upper. We first had our charcoal bits on the bottom, then small wood shavings laid out on top, small sticks afterwards, and then the large logs to top it off. It was a great "formula," that kept us pretty warm! Whenever the flames died down, we simply added more sticks or logs to it to keep it going which did the trick. 

Our best camp fire

Warm and cozy

    We ended the night telling each other ghost stories that we made up before going to sleep; it was a much colder night because of the wind, but we both managed. That following morning, we woke up around 8am to pack since check out time was around 11am. It was sad to leave since it felt like time had gone by so fast, but we both appreciated our small get-away. We knew next time we were going to go camping, that we would be better prepared for colder weather, and stay much longer.

    

Camping in November

    To watch my complete experience going camping, watch my vlog below from my YouTube channel!

   

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah