it's a beautiful day to be thankful.

This week, I'm thankful for...

Concerts with my best friend. Sometimes you find out that Mat Kearney--who you loved and listened to throughout high school and college--is right down the road from you having a concert. And when you find this out, you drop what you are doing and go to said concert. 

And then sometimes the opener ends up being so good and hilarious that you make this face all night: 

Pool days. Summer has arrived, and I plan on taking full advantage of my rooftop pool for as many days as I can. 

Marriage. Someone was asking me about marriage last week, and the best way I could explain it was this: Even if I fail at everything in my life--if I lose my job and all of my friends and ruin everything around me--I know that I can come home and there will still be one person on my team, no matter what. And that's just the best feeling in the world. 

Country music. I love country music, and lately I can't get enough of it. I can't stop listening to this song. It is absolutely hilarious, but it's also very true. 

What are you thankful for this week?

A Thankful Life is a Happy Life.

Sometimes it's good to take the time to think about what exactly you're thankful for. It makes a happy life, and we could all use a happier life, yes?

Good books. The kind that you fall asleep reading and want to pick them back up the second you wake up.

Warm weather. Because even as an adult with a job that does not get summer break (but why???), there's still something about summertime that's just more laid back and alive and carefree.

Coffee. Always coffee.

Learning to live in the present. Planning is good, and planning is my favorite, but I'm learning that you get 24 hours at a time to make as adventurous or as productive or as relaxing as you want. You literally only get one day at a time, so I'm learning how to live one day at a time to get the most out of life.

Little joys. Last week I wrote about getting more excited over the little things. I was cooking dinner yesterday, and this beauty was right outside my window!

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Thankfulness.

In my life, I've found that the cure for stress, sadness, not-so-great circumstances...well, that cure doesn't really exist. Sorry. But, I have found a really good way to combat those things, and that's with thankfulness.

You have to focus more on the good. It doesn't make the bad go away, but it does shift your perspective. And sometimes, that's all you need.

This week, I'm stressed. Tired. Worried. Confused. And there's not really anything I can do about those things.

But I am also so very thankful.

I'm thankful for days spent crafting. For surprise rooftop dinners. For the summer weather that seems to be back. For weekends that aren't full of to-do lists. For a snuggly pup. For days when writing comes easy.

It's just so important to take time to be thankful. Because do all of those things make bad circumstances go away? Nope. Do they change anything? No. Thankfulness may not have the power to change situations, but it has the power to change me.

And this week, it definitely did.

On Wednesday, Christopher came home and surprised me with dinner. We went up to the roof and he set the table with candles and wine. He grilled burgers. And we sat up there laughing and talking and just being together. I'm so thankful for moments like that, where you stop worrying and thinking and stressing and just be. And when I take the time to actually stop and think about how thankful I am for that, how can I ask for anything else?

Thankfulness changes you. It really, really does.

What are you thankful for this week?

The Art of Thankfulness (And Why it's Important).

Gatsby knows alllll about the art of being happy. 

Sunday night, my car wouldn't start.

Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal. Frustrating, sure, but not a big deal.

Sunday night, however, it was a big deal.

The past month (two months?) feel like they've been full of one thing after another. Car issues and health issues and bill issues and house issues and all of those other issues that come with being an adult.

Little problem, little problem, big problem, little problem, little problem, slightly bigger problem..all stacked on top of each other again and again, making a lopsided jenga full of frustration that you can only stare at and scratch your head, wondering how to make your next move without it all falling down.

For me, my car not starting was it. I tried not to cry while someone helped Chris jump my car, but once we started driving it around, it was game over. I cried and cried and cried, and wanted to scream, but just kept crying instead.

"Chels, it's not a big deal. It's fine."

But I kept crying anyway. Because it was a big deal. It felt like nothing was going right, and at some point that just becomes a big deal.

"You're the positive one. If the roles were reversed, you would tell me that we have so much to be thankful for."

Do those words feel like sandpaper when I say them to you? I wondered. Because he was right, that's exactly what I'd say. But that wasn't what I wanted to say right now, and it most certainly wasn't what I wanted to hear.

The next morning, I begrudgingly sat down to journal (because who really wants to journal when they're having a bad day/week/month? No one) and, like every other Monday, made a list of things I'm thankful for.

And magically, things weren't so bad. With each thing I added to my list, the circumstances I was so frustrated over seemed smaller and smaller.

So what that my car isn't working right, or that some frustrating things are going on. In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter? I have the best husband ever, an amazing place to live, and SO much to be thankful for. Who has time to be mad at circumstances when it's Thanksgiving? It's time to celebrate, not cry.

A short fifteen minutes later, I was immensely happier and any "problems" seemed immensely smaller. Not because anything changed, but because what I focused on changed.

And this morning, I didn't wake up thinking about car troubles. I woke up thinking about Thanksgiving  and friends and Christmas and family.

Taking the time to remember all you have to be thankful for can truly change everything.

Why do you think thankfulness is important? 

Thankful Fridays: 2014 edition.

Thankful Fridays was one of my favorite parts about blogging last year.  I decided it was time to throw it back into the mix this year.  I highly recommend you join me, even if you don't blog about it.  Forcing yourself to find things you're thankful for or things that made you happy in your week, even if they're silly things, can really change your attitude.

1.  Pitch Perfect 2 is coming out.

If this is your first time hearing this, just go back to bed now.  Your day isn't going to get any better than this.

2.  Encouraging comments, emails & tweets.

Because having a ton of people who would be strangers to me if it were not for the internet telling me they're excited for me is such a weird, incredible gift.

3.  TFIOS trailer.

Be right back while I go cry for approximately 37 days while I remember how good this book was.  Also, that has over 6 MILLION views and only came out about two days ago.  Please, try to tell me that this generation doesn't like to read.

4.  Authors.

More specifically, authors who have the ability to string words together in a way that just makes you feel.  I'm looking at you, John Green.

5.  Gold paint pens.

Because yes.

P.S. Book update:  I'm halfway there!  I only need to sell 155 more things to meet my goal.  You guys are amazing. 

Check out this month's featured sponsor:

2013, You Were Pretty Amazing.

2013 has been one crazy year.

I welcomed in 2013 in Jamaica, still on our honeymoon celebrating our new life.  When you start a year out like that, it has to be good, right?  2013 certainly has been.

2013 is the year I started blogging.
2013 is the year I found myself in a new town knowing no one but my husband, and you know what?  I survived.  And not only that, but made some pretty great friends along the way.
2013 is the year I decided to get serious about writing.  And while it would be pretty awesome to be ending the year with a book contract, the passion and determination I've discovered in myself is almost worth as much to me.
2013 is the year I figured out who I was...outside of college, outside of living at home, outside of being in the same town as my best friends.  It was a year of both finding who I was and finding who I wanted to be.
2013 is the year where I learned what being a wife means.  How it's so much more than cooking dinner and doing laundry.
2013 is the year I started building a life with my husband.
2013 is the year I traveled with Chris: to Jamaica, to Haiti, to New York, to the Bahamas.
2013 is the year Mr. Gatsby came into our lives.
2013 was a beautiful, incredibly full year.

This week, while you're making your resolutions and determining how much better 2014 will be than 2013 was, don't forget to take a minute to reflect on how good 2013 actually was.  Don't forget to be thankful for all the things you will have to think of when you think of 2013.

2014?  It's going to be amazing.  But 2013 has been pretty spectacular too.

                  

If you don't like your life, change it.

via

"If you don't like your life, change it."

I know that can be a controversial statement.  I know there are some things in life that just can't be changed.  But I also know there are some that can.

Life is too short to be miserable.  And if you wake up every morning complaining and dreading the day, that's a pretty good preview of how your day is going to go.  While "don't complain" would be the easiest (and also maybe the hardest) step to take, take it a little bit further.  What is it that you're complaining about?  Whatever it is, change it. 

You're bored?  Do something.  Don't like your job?  If you can afford to take the plunge into finding a job you love, do it.  If not, change some other things.  If you don't like your job because you don't get to shine in an area you're good at, find another place in your life to shine in that area.  If you don't like your job because you don't get to be creative, be creative somewhere else.  Start an etsy shop.  It cost me a whopping six dollars to start my etsy shop, and it has provided a really great creative outlet in otherwise very uncreative day-to-day work.  If you don't get to interact with people as much as you'd like with your job, make an effort to do so outside of work.  Write letters.  Set up coffee dates.

Most of the things we complain about in life could be changed if we tried even just a little.  I have friends who complain about never getting to spend time with their family, yet the first thing they do when they get a break is catch up on instagram or meet up with their friends.

Everyone has free time, it's just sometimes hidden in the form of time spent on social media or those extra hours spent in bed.  It's there in your life, and how you spend it is completely up to you.  But if you're unhappy with your life, use that free time to do something about it.

If at the end of the day, you honestly feel like there is absolutely nothing you can change in your life, then you just have to find a way to be thankful for the things that are already there.  Being thankful is a huge step in the direction of being happy.

Be happy this week.