Hi, lovelies! 💛 I hope you’re having a great Tuesday! In my last post, I mentioned to y’all that I wasn’t feeling the best last week and my mood dropped. My anxiety was pretty high in general, and waking up to cloudy skies sure didn’t help! To combat those negative feelings, I decided to complete a 7 days of happiness challenge!
I’ve seen gratitude challenges on Instagram and absolutely loved the concept! Every night before going to bed, I couldn’t help but smile while uploading the photos onto my computer.
Although I was feeling anxious, I found it fun to document things that made me smile throughout the day. I noticed that snapping the photos actually helped me appreciate the little things, like watching Netflix shows with Alejandro or reading a novel.
7 Days of Happiness
Monday — Makeup and Cozy Netflix Night
On Monday, I bought my first ever ColourPop product! YAY! I might be a little late since “Element of Surprise” dropped last year, but I couldn’t resist this dreamy palette! First of all, can we talk about the packaging? So cute! Even though the shades in this palette have an autumn vibe (earthy browns and creams), they are versatile enough to fit any season.
The palette has a great range of shimmers and mattes. My favorite shade by far is “Opulent,” a stunning metallic fuchsia color! I created a shimmery, whimsical makeup look with this palette, and can’t wait to try out more looks!
That night, Alejandro and I cuddled up in bed and watched New Girl. I introduced him to the series and he loves it! We’ve been watching an episode almost every day! Easily one of our favorite shows at the moment. I find a lot of comfort in chilling out at home and catching up on tv shows or Netflix series with Alejandro.
Tuesday — Movie Theater Date with Alejandro
On Tuesday, Alejandro and I went to see Incredibles 2. Growing up, I never really took an interest in watching the first movie.
Seriously, was I the only 10 year old on earth that didn’t watch The Incredibles?
Despite not seeing The Incredibles, I wanted to give Incredibles 2 a try and ended up loving the film! Elastigirl is without a doubt my favorite character and Jack Jack cracked me up! He’s hilarious!
We ended up getting to the theater early, so we goofed around and took a few photos. Of course, I had to capture my bae’s sweet smile! And let’s not forget about my popcorn! YUM!
Wednesday — Reading and Iced Coffee
By the time Wednesday rolled around, I began to accept Chicago’s grey skies. And what better way to relax on a cloudy day than with a good book and coffee? When I was in college, I took a Victorian Lit class and unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough time for us to thoroughly cover Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
I remember not getting the chance to fully enjoy the book because we read it near finals. That day though, I quickly got lost in the novel and Lewis Carroll’s writing style. I’m almost finished with the novel, and want to re-watch Disney’s Alice in Wonderland!
Thursday — Shopping for Home Decor
Thursday evening, Alejandro and I went shopping for home decor. I’m not the best at interior design, but I love making our place feel more like a home. We stopped by Francesca’s and I found this lovely canvas featuring cactuses and a “Love Grows Here” caption.
It’s such a cute little detail that adds to our kitchen area. I also got a Bananas and Cream Tin, and the candle has such a warm and welcoming scent (banana and coconut milk)!
Aside from home decor, I also bought a new planner. I’m obsessed with this little agenda. First of all, there are unicorns on the front cover! The agenda’s months range from July of this year until December of next year.
When I opened up the planner, I noticed charming stickers with reminders on them like “Time to Clean,” “Date Night,” and “Taxes!” so that your plans are easier to spot.
I’m a pretty visual person, and I like that the agenda starts off each month with a “Goals” “Birthdays” “Anniversaries” and “To-Do” section, rather than just jumping straight to the calendar. I can’t wait to start planning future blog posts and upcoming events in this agenda!
Friday — Pizza at Giordano’s
TGIF! Alejandro and I celebrated with some stuffed deep dish pizza from Giordano’s! We always order our pizza with spinach and it’s delicious. If you’re ever in the Chicago area, I recommend stopping by Giordano’s for some pizza!
We also ordered Wisconsin Cheese Curds for appetizers, since it takes about 45 minutes for the pizza to be made. I remember it drizzled a little that evening, and the restaurant was pretty busy. Chatting with Alejandro over dinner is always lovely, and we enjoy our more relaxed date nights. I don’t know how many jokes we told each other that evening!
Saturday — Nature
We spent the weekend at my grandma’s house. She lives about an hour away, and I try my best to visit her at least every other week. She used to have a vegetable garden in our old backyard, and planted flowers every year.
This year, Nonna bought the prettiest flowers and planted them in pots around her house. When I was little, I used to watch her plant flowers outside and this year, I got to help her pick out some pink and red flowers for her front porch.
Just before dinner, I sat outside for a while under a tree and read a chapter of Alice’s Adventures. I don’t know if I can picture myself living anywhere other than the city, but spending time in nature calms my mind.
Who knows, maybe one day I’ll move closer to the ocean, have a backyard, and plant my own flowers.
Sunday — Spending Time with Family
During the last day of my 7 days of happiness photo challenge, I spent a lot of time with family. On Sundays, my cousins, aunt, and uncle come over and we’ll eat dinner together as a family. That morning, my mom and I stopped by the store for some groceries my grandma needed for dinner. She made lasagna, breaded chicken, and zucchini.
After we got back from the store, I played outside with my little brother, Jonathan. He’s seriously the best little human ever. Jonathan has such a love for life, and finds adventure in everything.
We blew bubbles and chased each other around my grandma’s house. The sound of his laughter always makes me smile. I grew up as an only child and never thought I’d have a sibling (even though I begged my mom for a baby brother when I was little!)
Who would have thought that at 23, I’d meet my little brother and best bud!
I hope that you enjoyed this post, lovelies! 🌸 I’m so glad that I gave myself this 7 days of happiness challenge, and would definitely encourage anyone to try it out! It was a blast!
Have you ever completed a 7 days of happiness challenge? Or any other happiness/gratitude challenges? What was your experience with the challenge? Also, what are some little things that make you smile during the week?
Omg I am so jealous you saw the incredibles, it is defo on my list of things to watch!! Fab post as always! xx
Thank you so much for your kind words, hon!! ✨💖And, ahhh Chloe def watch it when you can!! It’s such a fun movie and I loved that it focused on Elastigirl!! xx
That palette :O OMG it is so pretty. Those shades are perfect for every time of year, so really good purchase girl. Lovely post. xx
Thank you, dear!! ✨And ahhh, I’ve definitely been missing out on ColourPop!! hehe! When I first saw the palette, I was like OH YES, this is cute!! lol! Can’t wait to create more looks with it! xx
It sounds like you had a great week!
I just ordered the element of surprise palette too, I’m super excited for it. New Girl is the best!!
It was! 💗Very laid back overall and I had fun spending time with my family during the weekend xx And that’s awesome!! I think you’re really going to like it! 🙂 All the colors are so pretty. Will you be doing a review on the palette? 💖Also, New Girl is def amazing. I forgot how much I like the show, and Zooey Deschanel is my fav. ✨
That’s so lovely! My work schedule has been weird so I haven’t really been able to have any family dinners lately, but hopefully soon!
I will probably review it eventually, I have two other palettes to review first though!
It’s so weird watching Elf if you’ve seen it, it throws me off that Zooey isn’t quirky at all in that movie!
Such a lovely blog post and that iced coffee looks amazing! I love this idea, it so important to remember all the good things about your day💕
Aww, thank you Rebecca!! 💖It was so much fun documenting those special little everyday moments!! xx And iced coffee is so yummy and my fav all year round hehe!!
I only saw The Incredibles last year for the first time, glad you enjoyed the second film – you look so cute in your overalls! The Colourpop palette you used looks so pretty and the pink eye look you created is lovely 🙂 The agenda is also so cute!
Thank you, Chanelle, you’re so sweet! 💓Yay, I’m not the only one then lol! My boyfriend was practically in disbelief when I told him I didn’t watch it as a kid! 😂Aww, thanks, I’m not the best at makeup, but it’s been a lot of fun trying out new products and experimenting with different looks, especially eyeshadow! xx
So many people love Colourpop and talk about how good their shadows are 🙂 x
Thank you so much, Ari!! That means a lot to me, hon!! 💗💛And it was such a good movie, Alejandro and I were cracking up throughout!! I still haven’t watched the first movie, so I definitely will have to rent that soon or stream it online!
And you’re so sweet, thank you! ✨He’s truly a character, it’s a lot of fun watching him grow up and learn new things! 🙂 He’s obsessed with the ABCs right now hehe!
Hope you had a good day, dear!! xx
thank you, you’re very kind as well. And aww that’s cute, I’m glad you had a good week. 🙂 ❤️
I absolutely love this blog post idea, I thought this was very creative and it’s a perfect way to practice gratitude. I just saw the Incredibles today and I loved it! Jack-Jack is so cute and funny. You’re baby brother is absolutely adorable.
Loved reading this post!