REFLECT, RELAX, REFRESH

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This summer I’ve had some time to reflect, relax and refresh. We all destress differently and no one way is better than another. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that my peace is valuable and comes above all else. I spent a lot of my twenties worrying about things that I really shouldn’t have been worrying about, but with age, I’ve learned to take time to listen to myself, recognize my emotions and how I’m feeling and navigate them in a healthy way. For those who are new to the CCC blog, I’ve expressed in a handful of past blog post about my struggles with anxiety and sleeping. I don’t talk about it often because I don’t want to give more power than it deserves, but it is something I’ve battled with since childhood and I realize talking about it on the blog may help others deal. I don’t mind sharing my story. Part of the reason I blog is because it helps with my anxiety, I’m able to get my thoughts out through the blog and empty out all the creative that I feel is about to burst on the inside of me. As a child, I use to cry and cry for hours for no reason, sleeping was a struggle and it would be very difficult for me to exhaust myself. My mother opted not to put me on medication and decided on a more holistic approach which I use to this day. So, below I’ve shared a few of the ways I destress and manage my anxiety.

BLOGGING/WRITING

As I’ve mentioned before, blogging is a great way to empty out and release a lot of the creative I often have building up inside of me. If I’m unable to get it out this can trigger anxiety. I usually do big projects in one day, the thought of having to spread it out over a long period of time is a trigger for me. Sometimes I fear I’ll lose my creative if I don’t let it out right then and there. If I feel something stirring up inside of me, I do it at that moment and it’s really a release. I know, this isn’t always realistic and that drives me nuts but I fight it when time doesn’t permit. My suggestion, If you have a creative something on the inside of you, get it out when it’s in its truest, purest form and worry about tweaking it later. You may have some missed opportunities but when you’re a creative person, something else amazing will always come up.

NATURE WALKS

My husband works for Parks and Recreation for our city now and I’ve discovered that exploring our under utilized parks have really relaxed me. Nature is beautiful in all it’s ways. I’ve come to enjoy the quiet and the vibrant colors tucked away in our city. I can clear my head, recharge and prepare for another creative outburst. Nature walks help me turn my brain off and help me to focus in on all of God’s amazing creatures and plant life.

TEA TIME

My mom use to buy me sleepy time tea to help soothe me and get me to sleep. I still buy this tea and it calms me and has a childhood connection to it. It may not have any magical powers but the connection it has to my amazing mother and childhood experiences, tricks my brain into thinking something is working, and sometimes that’s all you need.

EXERCISE

This may seem like an obvious solution but I heavily rely on exercise to calm me, exhaust me and center me. I do a lot of high intensity workouts throughout the week with the sole intention of exhausting myself so I can sleep better. This has done the trick for many years and provides a lot of health benefits outside of just reducing stress. One of my friends copes with anxiety by doing yoga. I haven’t done many yoga classes but hope to explore this avenue at some point. For now, I’m liking the results of intense cardio and strength training and my sleep has been amazing because of it.

TIME WITH GOD

I read my Bible, I attend worship service regularly but what really helps me the most is listening to worship music. I love music, I’m a vocalist and God blessed me with a voice so I’m going to use it and listen to others who have the gift too. Music is relaxing and takes me to a peaceful place.

I’m happy I could share and open up about a few of the ways I cope with my anxiety. It’s not easy to share this info with the world but self-care is nothing to be ashamed and as the years go by I care less and less about what people think and more and more about taking care of my needs and the needs of my friends, family and loved ones.

The green dress I’m wearing is from Zara but I got it from a consignment store a few years back and of course my pink heels are from DSW, you can shop them here.

I hope you all have an amazing week!

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

CAKE TASTING WITH CHOCO BON BON

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Who would of thunk vegan and gluten free cake would taste so good! Choco Bon Bon has proven me wrong. Vegan and gluten free are not so bad after all. If you’re following my IG then you know me and my friend Chi Chi made a cameo at a blogger meet and greet a few weeks back. We had the honor of chomping on some oh so delicious cake samples as well as some tasty wine, courtesy of Choco Bon Bon. I’ve been really busy connecting with some local bloggers and this event was a great way to get out there and meet some new friendly faces and exchange blogger tips and tricks. It’s really been a great summer of connecting and building relationships and I’m happy to have slowed down on travel to do so. I’m slowly accepting that I actually have a break from school and with all this free time, I’ve really been investing a lot in improving my content and connecting with like minded bloggers who are trying to grow. I’ve learned so much on this blogging journey but I’ve not arrived. There is still so much to build on and so much to do to continue to connect with my community and you, my readers. I do this because it’s an amazing outlet to let out my creative and it is a great way to help others. This blog means so much to me, and creating quality content that resonates with my readers is number one in my book. Enough chatting about that…..keep reading for deets on these amazing pics and deets on Choco Bon Bon.

Chi Chi is so focused and wondering how something so tasty could be eggless, LOL. This pic truly makes me smile.

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🙂 KEEP SCROLLING YA’LL…

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Many of you know I’m an influencer with Purcado. For those who don’t know, check out my Purcado blogpost here. Anyway, at this blogger meet and greet, I was able to connect with another Purcado influencer, Anna Haddock, writer of The Coffee Table blog. She is as sweet as pie and we had the greatest convo just talking about school, blogging and life in general. Her boyfriend, @samuelholt is the amazing photographer behind these pics and I’m officially obsessed with every single one of them. You should check him out on IG @samuelholt and book a photo session with him. He’s freaking talented! After much chatting and wine sipping, we had an impromptu photoshoot with the cutest little cake samples. Thanks to Valerie, the petite beauty and writer of the minimamablog for organizing this amazing cake sampling event. For those with a sweet tooth, I highly suggest checking out Choco Bon Bon for all your cake and sweet tooth needs. They have a little something for everyone and the cake is mouth watering.

P.S. This is the best wash n go I’ve had all summer. I’ve been dealing with some serious dryness these past few months and no conditioner is fixing it but I’m excited about this new partnership opportunity I’ve made with a hair company. Hoping their hair products can tame this mop top. More deets on this to come. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

CURLFRIENDS

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So, I’m crazy late posting these pics but I had to share them because these ladies are the bomb.com. So, allow me to share how late this post is. This all went down on Memorial Day, LOL, I know, I’m terrible. Don’t judge :). I believe I posted these pics on insta and am just now having time to post to my blog. I have to remember that not everyone has an Instagram or a Facebook page, so I try to keep the blog as up to date as possible. With that being said, I’d like to say that there is nothing more amazing than reconnecting with old friends and bringing in new ones. The red curly-haired beauty is a friend of my friend, Shanelle (the beaut in the floral dress). Anyway, we had a blast at the annual hot air balloon event in Fuquay Varina, NC. I’m almost positive that is not the official name of this event, but nonetheless, we had a blast. Well, I did. I’m pretty easy to please, give me a funnel cake and a lawn chair to sit down and eat my funnel cake and I’m good. Nelle was pretty disappointed because the hot air balloons were having some technical difficulties, so only one took flight that day. Poor thing, she was really hoping for like 50 hot air balloons to take flight, LOL. Then we started talking about how hot air balloons are a big deal in Mexico and Turkey and about all the hot air balloon festivals they have every year. I promised to take her, but for now we’d have to stick to Fuquay Varina for financial reasons, LOL. 
 
Anyway, this was my first time exploring this cute little town and I was loving everything I saw. I’m hoping to go back when more than one hot air balloon take off for a trip around town. This may be a bit of a stretch, but I’d be open to getting in one too.
 
I’ll be posting a new outfit to the blog this Wednesday, so no worries. I just had to share this summer adventure on the blog before it was like unforgivably late. Looking forward to sharing more of my summer days with you all. We have some beach trips planned and I’m thinking about a barbecue too, although those don’t seem fun when you don’t eat meat, LOL. 
Till next time.
Sincerely,
Deidra Marie