Lifestyle

The Roundup: March

In March we talked quite a lot about mindfulness and slow living.

We touched on my “struggles” with being mindful while also being… obsessed with all things beauty in my The Beauty Diet post. My beauty collection was getting bit out of control and I actually made it all the way to April with only buying a mascara and a lipstick this year. I got rid of a whole bunch of old, unopened or unused products which I discussed in the Spring Cleaning Your Beauty Stash and having less, actually makes me feel better. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m planning to stop blogging about beauty any time soon, but I’m definitely staying more mindful these days.

Doing things like finding compassion and forgiveness for yourself, not calling yourself names, telling yourself you’re stupid or “can’t” do something, being hard on yourself… These are things we all do sometimes. Or… a lot of times. Negative thought patterns are just a part of our daily lives, it seems. It does become a problem though when we start being mean and nasty to ourselves, telling ourselves things that we’d never say to someone we love. If you ever beat yourself up for making a mistake, or struggle with negative self-talk the 4 Ways to End Negative Self-Talk post is for you.

Self-Care is another topic that I discuss often and it’s probably because it’s something that I personally have struggled with for years. To be quite honest, it doesn’t feel entirely natural to take some time out just for myself- I’m the happiest when I’m working and for many many years I slept with my laptop under my pillow. Times have changed and now I’m trying to do things slower and practice a little self-care (even if it’s something as small as a morning cup of tea).

25 Things To Do By Yourself was also probably one of my favorite posts published last month. It was nice to see that I’m not the only one who loves spending time alone.

how-to-stop-negative-self-talk

Blogging and Photography are my favorite posts to work on and in March I showed you guys how I edit my photos using Photoshop as well as how to get better Instagram photos. Every single one of us who has some sort of a creative outlet (and I believe that creativity is something we’re all born with) knows that sometimes “creating” doesn’t come easy. Some days writing comes as naturally as breathing. Other times, you can spend hours staring at a blank page and words just don’t come. This is something that I talked about in the Things to do For Your Blog When You Don’t Feel Like Writing post. We also talked procrastination in this post.

If you read my beauty articles, you probably noticed that I’m very much into skincare at the moment. I talked about one of my favorite drugstore products of the moment, skincare mistakes to learn from and, just recently, I wrote about a bunch of new skincare products I’m loving at the moment.

And… of course two of my regular monthly features were: What’s In My Makeup Bag and Lovin’ Lately.

Which post was your favorite? For my blogger babes, have you published a post during the month of March that you’re particularly proud of? I’d love to check it out!

23 Comments

  • Reply
    Maddy
    April 2, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    Your photography posts are my favorite too!
    -Maddy
    cheers-maddy.com

  • Reply
    Kat
    April 2, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    Hey Paula, how are ya? I like your posts so much so unable to select a fave hun! As for self-love we should all treat ourselves as we would a very good friend. Pamper yourself – basically get up, work-out, get dressed and look fab and kick ass !!

    Seriously though, self-love and mindfully living are inter-related as, when you live mindfully, you become aware of your own emotions and thoughts and contemplate them and delve deeper – which all leads to a deeper understanding of yourself which goes hand-in-hand with self-love.

    Slow down and enjoy even the little pleasures. For instance, every other morning I have a bowl of healthy cereal with lots of fruit and nuts and seeds so I prep it the night before because when I get home from my 5:00 am walk with my pups I am hungry and am glad I already prepped my breakfast so I don’t have to take the time to do it then – – but I do indeed take the time to enjoy the prep and the anticipation, just before I go to bed, savouring how good it will taste in the morning ! That is living mindfully and enjoying the seemingly small things!

    Have a super week ahead sweets!

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      April 4, 2017 at 8:40 pm

      That’s so sweet Kat, thank you! I love the way mindfulness changed my life. Your morning routine sounds so lovely! I think that getting up early in the morning is so worth spending that extra time just enjoying little things like prepping your breakfast and taking the time to really enjoy it. We tend to do all of those things in such a hurry these days, it’s so nice to slow down. :) Hope you’re having a lovely week yourself!

  • Reply
    Serein Wu
    April 2, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    I’ve been so behind on catching up with all my favorite blogs, but it’s so inspiring to read about your process and journey to self care and slowing down. Thank you for always being an inspiration.
    xoxo
    Serein
    http://sereinwu.com/

  • Reply
    Emmalisa Tilli
    April 3, 2017 at 2:46 am

    I love writing and reading about self care in particular especially learning about products that assist with the body’s health and mind…. I did a 10 ways to practice self care post a little while ago, but I love my post on “Luxurious Lifestyle” hehehe it’s probably my “proud blog of March”…. lol!

    https://exquisiteemmalisa.com/2017/03/20/luxurious-lifestyle/

  • Reply
    Aleksandra // bunniesaremagic
    April 3, 2017 at 3:47 am

    I cannot believe it is April already, 2017 is passing by so fast!

  • Reply
    Beautylymin
    April 3, 2017 at 3:59 am

    I think self care is something most people struggle with because it’s about prioritising yourself over others and that doesn’t always come naturally, but it should! xx

    Beautylymin

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      April 4, 2017 at 8:47 pm

      It definitely doesn’t come naturally, especially for those of us who were taught, from a very young age, to put ourselves last.

  • Reply
    Linda Libra Loca
    April 3, 2017 at 7:22 am

    I can’t pin it down to one post, I had a few where I really liked my style of writing though.
    And I finally switched my makeup out for spring, something I had been meaning to do since end of January and reorganized my skincare. My skincare stash is starting to bevome manageable, which is something I am extremely proud of.

    Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      April 4, 2017 at 8:51 pm

      I loved your haul post- your husband did such a good job filming and you looked incredible as always! Still can’t get over that beautiful sweater dress and OTK boot combo!

  • Reply
    Claudia @ Just a Little Blush
    April 3, 2017 at 8:47 am

    I love all the blogging/photography tip posts. You have a way of breaking things down while at the same time encouraging people to try different things on their own. I can’t deal with posts that say: you need to do X exactly like this or you’ll fail.

    – Claudia
    http://www.justalittleblush.com/

  • Reply
    Natalie Redman
    April 3, 2017 at 9:39 am

    I love that self-care has become a more talked about topic!

    http://www.upyourvlog.com

  • Reply
    Ela BellaWorld
    April 4, 2017 at 5:38 am

    Less is good, I should keep reminding to myself all the time. When there are so many new things out, then it gets easier to forget about it and then end up with bunch of things you hardly use. I really like your motivating posts and you always spread positivity, I wish I could be more positive towards myself :) Self care is definitely one of the things I’m planning to focus on, hopefully it will make difference for me! x

    Ela BellaWorld

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      April 4, 2017 at 9:02 pm

      That is something that I’m learning too. I honestly feel so much happier once I started to buy less beauty products. Self care didn’t come naturally to me, and it’s something that I still struggle with sometimes, I just don’t know how to “turn off” some days, but it’s so worth the effort. Hope you can try to make it a habit, Ela!

  • Reply
    Lizanne Frew
    April 5, 2017 at 8:14 am

    Just found your blog and I love it. Self care is a topic that I am just starting to open up to. We all put self care last in our list when it really should be the top. Thank you so much for writing an article that makes sense and ticks all the boxes for me.

  • Reply
    Naya
    April 6, 2017 at 5:47 am

    I am geniunely enjoying every single post (no matter what the topic is) on your blog Paula. You are doing such a great job, big fan here! xx

    Naya // http://www.partyparrotblog.com

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