Every Sunday, I stop by to share with you a few raw and real stories from my week in The Sunday Edit. Stories where I edited struggles into strengths and found Gem moments when shining seemed impossible. In a world where everyone filters what they share online, I want you to see you’re not alone and I want to inspire you to have more good days. You’ll also find what products have been making my life easier, what new Gem finds I’ve come across, and the best sales going on right now!
**This post may contain affiliate (which means I make a small commission when you shop from them) and sponsored links (gifted items are indicated with a [c/o] and sponsored links with a [sp]) because we all have to pay our bills, and I’d rather keep creating awesome content for you than get a real job. All opinions are my own.**
Last Week on The Gem:
- A Classic Red-and-White Wrap Dress for Summer (and it’s only $34.99!)
- Exploring Princeton, New Jersey
- 10 Things to Treat Yourself to This Month
- The Sunday Edit – Volume 6
Life Stuff:
I’ve gotta say, I’m struggling a bit with these Sunday Edits lately, which are meant to share genuine stories from my life. But, the stories that stick out lately when I’m flipping back through my week aren’t entirely just my stories to share. I’m sure I’ll find an appropriate way to share pieces with you at some point, but for this week, I want to take about happiness again since it’s always something that seems to resonate with all of you. Lately, I’ve been faced again with the reality that my happiness is my own responsibility. I haven’t been relying on someone else to provide me with happiness (been there, done that), but I’ll admit I have just kind of been coasting along hoping more joy would find its way to me.
Does anyone else cringe a little when you see a quote online that says, “happiness is a choice?”
I mean, I get the concept and I even talked about it being a little easier for me 2 weeks ago. But, even though happiness might be a “choice”, the chance that my mind is going to be able to deliberately choose happiness in a stressful or gloomy moment is slim to none. The message that happiness can just be selected at any point in time (and that that’s a skill we should have) rubs me the wrong way because there have been so many situations in which I’ve wanted to select happiness with my whole heart and couldn’t – leaving me only more frustrated with myself.
A few weeks ago, I sat in my therapist’s office and said to her, “I feel like I’m doing all the right things. I’m eating better. I go to yoga. I workout every day. I meditate every now and then. I’m actively trying to spend less time looking at a screen. I’m working on being a better friend and spending more time with people. I’m doing all of the typical “self-care” things and it’s still not enough. I’m trying so hard to be happy.”
She said to me something to the tune of, “well, now you’re going through more. You’re going to have to find more ways to take care of yourself. What normally gets you though isn’t going to be enough anymore.”
I thought to myself, “Ughhh. I don’t have the time or the money to find new ways. I’m doing all I can with the resources I have available.”
In true Allyn fashion, I was probably making things harder than they needed to be…
So this week, not feeling capable of attempting any other strategies, I decided to work on finding happiness around me.
Seeking it out. Noticing it. Acknowledging it. Calling it out.
On Wednesday, I thought about how freaking cool butterflies are as I walked through the Butterfly Forest at Phipps Conservatory. Like isn’t it neat we exist in a world that butterflies do? I chose to stop and smell as many flowers as I wanted that day, too. This week, I also appreciated how much I loved the lilac color of this dress (full outfit post coming soon but you can sneak a peek in this post on instagram!) and let that fill me up with joy. I found a new eyeliner that lights my eyes up so I’ve been wearing it every day just because I want to even though I’ve gone nowhere where I felt like makeup was necessary. I let myself actually enjoy the process of editing the photos for Friday’s post rather than rushing through them. I thought about how cool it is that the entire mood of a photo can shift with just a few adjustments. I watched a beautiful sunrise yesterday morning (even though I was driving, I still let my mind linger on thinking about how pretty it was).
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I chose to find happiness around me and it did, in fact, make me feel happier. So, I hope this week you pause to seek out at least a few small moments of happiness, too. You, Gem, deserve all the happiness in the world, no matter what else is happening in your world. Don’t ever let the self-doubt that comes along with the dark clouds of sadness deprive you of the shine you’re worthy of.
If this message landed with you at all or if you have had any similar experiences, I would be SO honored if you’d share a little bit of your heart with me in the comments section!
In Other News…
- The post I wrote at the end of May on the hidden benefits of anxiety has been getting to much traffic to it lately. If you haven’t read it yet, I truly hope that you do. I honestly do believe anxiety has brought a lot of good to my life and there was a shift of relief for me the first time I realized it. I hope you can feel that too if anxiety is something you deal with. Read it here.
- I’m headed to the Outer Banks in North Carolina during the second week of August and I absolutely cannot wait! If you’ve been there, I’d love to hear any recommendations you have for restaurants and activities!
- This Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen is the incredible eye liner I mentioned above. I’m obsessing over the RoseGlow shade because it adds just a touch of definition and glow to my eyelid to emphasize the glowy summer season!
Latest Finds & Sales:
- You might have heard there’s a small sale going on right now at Nordstrom and by small, I actually mean huge. As in their biggest sale of year. Early access is live until 7/19 for cardmembers (public access begins July 20th). The reason this sale is such a big deal is because it’s all about new fall items that are available with heavy discounts before they’re listed at full price after August 5th! I’m really loving all the relaxed, comfy casual gear on sale right now like this striped hoodie ($32.90), these high waisted leggings ($35.90), these dreamy silk joggers ($183.90), this cozy fleece jacket ($58.90), and this terry jacket ($52.90).
