The ABC's of Thankfulness

Picture belongs to rightful owner. Buy this print on Obaz.com.

I have always been an optimistic person, but like most people I seem to lose my way sometimes. After coming across a post on Simply Clarke about 26 alphabetical things to be thankful for, I decided to write my own post with 26 I'm thankful for.

A

Abby. My little sister who always tries to bring out the little kid in me. 

B

Best Friend. My best friend is someone I am very thankful for. This person always patientily supports and encourages me to be the best person I can be.

C 

Coffee. Iced Coffee to be exact. It helps me calm down and keep my sanity almost everyday. 

D

My Dad. Of course I would be thankful for my Dad, he's a wonderful human being that I look up to every single day. 

E 

Electronics. I use at least one gadget each day and I wouldn't be able to function if I didn't.

F

Failures. Without things that I have failed to do in the past, I would never be able to move on to bigger and better things. I keep all my failures in my back pocket in case I need a laugh. ;)

G

Google. Thanks to Google, I learned stuff about the world of technology and the world itself without even knowing what I was supposed to be looking for. 

H

Home is where the heart is.

I 

Inspiration. There are many different things that inspire me to do what I do and if I didn't have that, I would have no sense of direction.

J

Jell-o. Who doesn't love some Jell-o?

K

Kite. As in the novel, "The Kite Runner" which is one of my favorites.

L

Love. It surrounds us everyday, in different forms and different people.

M  

My Mommy. She taught me the difference between right and wrong. She taught me how to be strong.

N

Nail Polish. A different color/style for every mood I'm in.

O

Omelets. I really don't like eating eggs, but an Omelet I will definitely have.

P

Pizza, Pancakes, and Pens. Who doesn't love Pizza? How can you go wrong with Pancakes? And a Pen is simply essential for me to carry around in case I have an outburst of ideas.

Q

Quick stops at a food fuel on a busy highway while being on a road trip. The food is more expensive and there's too many people, but it never fails to be part of a funny road trip story!

R

Restaurants. Dining out is always fun!

S

Subway Sandwiches and Shoes! I like shoes and I like Subway. That's all.

T 

Tabi. My younger sister that I hope to guide with my wisdom although I know it's her wisdom that inspires me instead.

U 

Ups that are longed for after those really downing moments. You can't get back up, unless you've been down.

V

Vacations. We all just need one every now or then.

W

Wendy's. There's no other fast food place I'd prefer more.

X

X-Tra whip cream on my Iced Coffee, please.

Y 

Yoohoo! Yes, the chocolate milk drink. 

Z

Zobia. My name is just well...the best. ;)

Thanks for reading! What are some things that you're thankful for? 

xoxo,

New Products in My Fragrance Shop!

I'm really excited to post about some new additions in my fragrance shop.

I updated my inventory at Fragrance Essence and was able to get some great new fragrance selections to add!

These items include Coach Poppy Flower, Chloè, J'adore by Christian Dior, Yellow Diamond by Versace, Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana and more! 

Check it out at the store now! 

New Fragrances at Fragrance Essence!

Did I mention FREE shipping on select new items?!
xoxo,

A Group Giveaway in May

I'm part of a group giveaway sponsored by a small group of lovely ladies. This group giveaway is hosted by myself,  Lauren , Areeba , Ebone , Victoria , Malorie , Noor & Hannah. Since it's my first time hosting a group giveaway, I am both excited and curious to see how it works out! You can receive some great prizes when you enter this giveaway via Rafflecopter. Gift cards, bows & earrings, and lots of FREE ad spaces!

*P.S. For the comment entry, you may go on to Noor's Place to comment the answer to the question provided, and/or comment on this blog post with anything you'd like to say about the giveaway! :)

*P.S.S Be sure to check out all these lovely ladies' blogs when you enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for entering the giveaway! Good luck!

xoxo,

5 Steps to Creating a Blog

I have had a variety of friends over the years and every time I get around to showing them a website/blog I started, they say "You can do this because your life is interesting, no one would read my blog." That's where they are wrong! My life really isn't any more or less interesting than their lives would be. The trick is, I cherish my thoughts and like to let all of them out through my hobbies. That's all, nothing so intensely interesting to it.

Since, all my friends wonder in amazement at the "interesting" life I live, I decided to create a post guiding them to create their own blogs. One of my friends is really looking for an easy way to blog and keep it updated so I'll share some blogging tips as well!

1.  The Story: Every blog has a story or idea that becomes the purpose of the blog. Your story doesn't have to be mind-blowing. Actually, it doesn't even have to be a story, it just has to describe what your blog will mainly be about and/or why it was started. For example, I needed a website of my own where I can showcase all my social network accounts and projects and so The Eternity Journal was born. That's my story.
2.  Give Your Story a Name: This is something I am terrible at. I have changed my blog's name a thousand times. I'm very indecisive with that aspect of my blog and hopefully my current blog name is one I will still love years from now. That is what you have to do. You need to find a name that you know you will be able to live with for the whole lifetime of your blog as well as it's afterlife. (Keeping in mind that your blog name may still appear on the internet even after you decide to delete it). So how do you choose the perfect name that fits your blog's story? You experiment. It's the best way to get a feel of what you blog name would sound like and look like all over the internet. Browse through blogs and conduct a list of names that you'd like and see where you can fit your name or your personality into. For example, if you like a blog called "In the Middle of Love", you can personalize it to "In the Middle of Amy's Life." Now you have created a whole name that fits your blog and is entirely yours, you see? Keep experimenting until you find one that you think you might want to keep.
3. Find a Place for Your Story: This step takes a bit more research than thought. There are plenty of blogging services that you can use to showcase your blog, but finding which one is right for you is the tricky part. The service I use for this blog is Blogger, although one of my blogs, It's Technologic was created through Wordpress.org. I have tried several blogging platforms before and in my opinion, each service has it's own community of bloggers and trends that the other service does not. In my case, I used Tumblr for quite a while as a blogging platform, but blogging about my life on a service that solely relies on media was a terrible idea. Then I switched over my personal blog to Wordpress.com. I hated it. The service itself is great, it's so great I use the professional version for my technology blog, but the community on Wordpress was too sophisticated for me. Plus, with a free blog on Wordpress.com there aren't too many customization settings to create the perfect personal blog. I moved on to Blogger and was pleased with all the blogs I had discovered and the community that came along with it. Not to mention, all the customization I want! Blogger was the perfect home for my personal blog and Wordpress.org became the home for the professional/techy side of me. 
4. How Will You Showcase Your Story? Now that you found your story, gave it a name, and a home. Think about how you can showcase it. For instance, my blog is in one word about me. It's about my interest in business, technology, writing, and my love of life. Therefore, you'll find posts about how my small business is going, some technology thoughts I want to share, and a narration of my life's moments through writing and photos.
5. Update and Promote Your Story: Your blog is all setup! Now all you have to do is keep updating your blog with posts that showcase your story and promote it! Send it to all your friends, write your blog URL on all your social networking accounts, and let other people know your unique and personalized story is live! 

Some Easy Tips to Help Get You Started

• Research Blogging Platforms such as Blogger, Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. Google it, check out their features from their website, or check out this article I wrote titled "Which Blogging Platform is Right for You?" on my technology blog. 
• Remember what you are blogging for (your story, your purpose). It will help you write.
• Don't write a post because you haven't updated your blog in a while. Write a post because you have something to say. Blogging wouldn't be fun if it was just another thing on your to-do list.
• Include links to your social network accounts on your blog and include your blog link on your social network accounts also. It's just an easy way to get connected with your readers while gaining new ones.
• Go to BlogLovin.com for some blog inspiration.
• Represent who you are and you're blog will be perfect!

I hope this was a useful post! Be sure to comment and share your thoughts! Feel free to share your own blogging tips!
xoxo,

Julep Maven Box Unboxing

I recently signed up for Julep Maven Box program and thanks to Gina from The Kitchen Ink I was able to get my first box for FREE!

Julep is a company that sells nail polishes and beauty products that tailor to your personal style and personality. When you become a maven, you sign up for a monthly subscription where every month you receive a box of beauty products that you might like.


When I opened the box I found a nail file with the Julep website written on it, a nail polish remover wipe, and my nail polishes packed in a pink bag tied with a bow. I had chosen the "It Girl Starter Box" because it matched my style better than the other starter box options they had.


The colors from left to right are: Simone, Carly, and Stefani.

I thought this box was great! I was very pleased. I'll definitely be looking forward to my next one! Want a free box to try Julep too? I'm passing along the code! To order your FREE Julep Maven Box follow this link: http://bit.ly/YhTqXO and enter the code FREEBOX at checkout!

xoxo,