What I Learned This Christmas

5daysofblogmas

We made it to Day 5 of BLOGmas!! Woooo!! Not gonna lie, I almost didn't post anything today. Trying to come up with content every day, staying on top of the editing game, and promoting yourself is not for the faint-hearted. Daily blogging/vlogging is extremely difficult and I have a new level of understanding and respect for the YouTubers/Bloggers that I follow regularly.

Today's post is a bit more of a reflective one. This time last year, my life looked very different. In fact these last few years in Chicago have completely turned my world upside down. I have loved and lost. I've given my everything to different endeavors, both in love and in life, only to lose it all in the end. I've nearly gone bankrupt (still trying to come back from that now, so pray for me). I've had some scary health battles. I've lost friends. I've been hurt. And I'm sure I've hurt others on this journey, even unintentionally.

I've felt smaller than I ever thought humanly possible. I've been in positions where I've been made to choose between people that I love and ultimately I lost myself in that process. I've been isolated, confused, broken...BROKE. All of that in the course of a few short years in Chicago.

So, what have I learned this Christmas?

Well...I've learned that you heal. Your heart heals. Your mind mends.

You keep putting one foot in front of the other until you learn to walk with stability again.

You find hope in the most unexpected of places.

This Christmas, I've been reminded that community is so incredibly important. And if you look around, you'll find people that you left behind in your pursuits who still believe in you, still love you without conditions, and still support you no matter how near or far you are from them. I've re-connected with some old friends and I still plan to keep reaching out to more. I've spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with incredible people and my incredible boyfriend, which has been lovely. Also, this year, I'm more in tune with my family than I have been this whole time in the big city, which feels amazing.

More than anything, I've learned that freedom is both beautiful and terrifying. The freedom to choose for yourself, to love yourself, to be yourself, unapologetically, is heartbreaking and liberating. And on this journey of life, I hope that I continue to become myself.


This Christmas, I hope you laugh, even if life isn't perfect. I hope your home smells like cookies and honey-glazed ham. Mine does!


I hope you feel joy. Happiness is more of an emotion, one that comes and goes. But joy...joy is something spiritual, something God-given. And that's what I hope you feel this holiday season.

No filters, no makeup. Just me ♥


Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has helped me celebrate BLOGmas! This has been a wonderful adventure and I've talked to people from all over the world because of this (whattup Germany & Poland!!). My goal is to blog/vlog more in 2016. I hope to bring you along on the journey to becoming myself ♥

xoxo
Pam

A Few of My Favorite Things ♥

5daysofblogmas
Hi friends! Welcome back to BLOGmas, day 4! I can't believe 5 Days of Blogmas is almost over! If you haven't checked out my previous posts, be sure to do ittttt cause they're awesome.

Today I wanted to get a bit more intimate by sharing some of my favorite things.

One of the things I'm most grateful for in life is my room. Having been homeless at the beginning of 2014, my heart is filled with thankfulness at this space that I get to call my own. And I do my best to make it feel warm and welcoming.


The walls in my room are red and orange. There is a beautiful canvas of the Chicago skyline along with some of my favorite pictures on the wall. The addition of a string of lights makes this such a peaceful setting to fall asleep. 


Here's a closeup of my photo wall. It's filled with adventures that I don't want to forget.


This is what I call my "Happy Corner." I loooove having candles burning in my room. My favorite scents are savory/sweet - this one is banana nut bread (omg so gooood).


I also love having fresh flowers in my room. They just add an extra pop of brightness that makes me happy. These are from my man. He likes to surprise me with flowers (insert heart eye emoji here).


Alright, let's move outta my room and on to some more things I am LOVING right now.

First, movies!


These are my go-to's right now. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is one of those feel-good movies. The music is triumphant and the scenery is gorgeous. It makes you want to get out there and find the extraordinary in life. The Holiday is just a classic. Kate Winslet's voice makes me want to swoon. I fan-girl over her pretty hard. This is a romantic comedy that will make you feel all the feels and laugh too. Ugh, I LOVE it! The Other Woman is my guilty pleasure out of the bunch. I love Nicki Minaj in this, I think she's hilarious. Also, this movie really makes me want to have a night out on the town with my girlfriends. It's a fun movie about commitment and friendship. I can't get enough of Cameron Diaz! And last but certainly not least, The Princess and the Frog. Disney just does it right, man. I can literally have this movie on repeat in the background of my life. Tiana is beautiful, the characters are so fun, I love the music, the story, and it makes me nostalgic for New Orleans. 
 

I very much enjoy writing and nothing beats sitting down with a cup of tea, a snack, and putting a pen to paper. This journal is from Marshall's. I highly recommend you check out the journal selection there (Marshall's/T.J. Maxx/Ross) because they're super cute, affordable, and unique.



 Finally, I just had to share these sunnies in my favorites...cause, I mean, come on. They're dope! I got these on Hollywood Blvd which makes me feel extra fancy, too.



I hope you enjoyed this little favorites post! Stay tuned for Day 5 tomorrow. Eeeeek!!

*big hugs*
Pam 

Good Eats (At Home!)

5daysofblogmas
Hello my darlings! Happy BLOGmas Day 2!

In my weight loss journey, people often ask me what I eat regularly. I've never done a post dedicated to my go-to meals. So, for today, I figured I'd share some typical meals that I eat at home. I know the holidays are coming up and we're all going to gain some weight (workout post coming tomorrow though, so eat up!). In the meantime, here are some healthy meals you can have at home (or draw inspiration from) in between your feast days (or just on regular days, like after New Years lol).

Disclaimer: I ain't no chef...so...ya know.

Breakfast

This is a very common breakfast for me. In fact, this is my go-to more often than not.

Honey strawberry Greek yogurt, granola, strawberries & kiwi with a drizzle of honey. Plus a chai tea!

The Greek yogurt provides some good probiotics for digestive health, the granola gives me some fiber, as well as the fruit. The drizzle of honey is for good luck (at least in my mind) and sweetness.

This next one is another typical breakfast of mine. I make this when I have a few extra minutes to spare and I feel like cooking a little bit.

Eggs, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and Greek yogurt with raspberries. Plus an iced chai.

And finally, this is for when I have a bit more spare time, usually on the weekend. Pro tip: sriracha is amazing on EVERYTHING.

Scrambled eggs with spinach & sriracha, sausages, toast, and a mimosa!


Lunch

Alright, on to some lunch favorites! Basically, I always eat salads at home for lunch lol. It's what I love and it's healthy. 

Spinach & kale, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and meatballs. I don't usually have tea with lunch, but this day I did. It's lemon zinger tea.

Right now my favorite dressing is a combination of Greek dressing with ranch. Sounds crazy, but just try it. It's so goooood.

Spinach & kale, tomatoes, and chicken sausage.


Dinner

For dinner, I usually have something I find comforting. Here's two yummy examples.

Butter chicken, steamed rice, with baked pita bread. And also, for whatever reason, I'm having iced tea. I promise I don't always drink tea lollllll.

Chicken apple sausage, baked brussell sprouts (with olive oil, salt & pepper), and a baked sweet potato.


"Fooood, glorious fooooood. Eat right through the menu!" lol!

That's it! I hope perhaps you found some of this to be useful or helpful. See you tomorrow for Day 3 of BLOGmas!!

xoxo
Pam

Places #2

5daysofblogmas
Welcome to Blogmas!!

I am very excited to be doing 5 Days of Blogmas all the way through Christmas Eve. I'm gonna share with you guys some of the things I love, starting with another installment of places!

Places #2 - Christkindl Market




Every year in Chicago, a wonderful open-air market inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Germany (which dates back to the 16th century!) takes place in Chicago. The Daley Plaza is set up like a little European village in the winter with international and local food, drinks, trinkets, and more.



We decided to begin our night of festivities by listening to the Christmas Carolers at Millenium Park. They put us right in the mood for Christmas cheer.




We then ventured over to Vapiano for a quick bite to eat. Vapiano is one of my all-time favorite places to grub here in Chi-Town, so perhaps I'll do a full places post on that in the future. Just know that we ate our fill of salad, pasta, and pizza before heading to the main event.

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They have the yummiest mulled wine at the market! I made a beeline for this as soon as we got there.

My handsome lover, DeMico.

We love the Christkindl Market!!


Seriously...the best. And only $3 at the Market!!


I absolutely love the Christkindl Market and I've been every year since I've been living in Chicago. If you haven't been yet this year, it closes on Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. Get there!!

Since we were in such good cheer, we decided to see Krampus to end our night of Christmas festivities.

Our before-the-movie scared faces lol

I gotta say - while I'm not into scary movies, this movie was awesome! It was mostly funny rather than terrifying though, so that's why I loved it. DeMico and I plan to show this to our kids someday lol. Go see it!

That's it! Happy Blogmas Day 1!!

xo
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