The tender, unearthly magic of the Spring has crept into my heart. I hear the song of birds, I smell new odors, see new colorings, and the softness of the air melts me. And I feel. Oh, God, how deeply I feel, and grieve and rejoice. More than ever in my life before, more than all I felt during childhood, and that was a great deal, more than all I felt during girlhood, which I thought nothing could surpass; I stand on the threshold of the world itself, and a new life has taken hold of me.

beautiful women will be like “i baked a cake” and you will say “oh ? what flavour is it” and they say well its a honey rosewater apricot pistachio cardamom vanilla fig jam earl grey poppyseed orange blossom extra virgin olive oil chiffon sponge soaked in raspberry elderflower champagne lipgloss pomegranate matcha ginger blueberry cherry blossom magnolia petal almond passionfruit persimmon syrup with whipped amalfi lemon limoncello ricotta goats cheese honeycomb black pepper bergamot lemon thyme lemon balm rosemary chantilly whipped cream cream cheese feta cheese italian meringue frosting . like ok. i want to spend the rest of my afternoons walking around inside your beautiful mind like a garden

btw curating a beautiful environment is about honouring yourself. when you choose to surround yourself with things that are well-made, thoughtfully designed, and meaningful, you affirm that your daily experience matters. investing in quality over convenience sends a subconscious message of self-worth that is completely foundational to building a better life.

rare photos of Marilyn Monroe filming River of No Return

1954

“I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and... I believe in miracles.”

― Audrey Hepburn

gently pressing your head against your lover’s back while they cut vegetables, your lover sitting on the kitchen counter while you talk about your day at work and wait for the water to boil, giving them little pecks while they stir the vegetables, eating the food together, washing the dishes together… you know what i mean

the girls are gua shaing, snacking on raw honey, lathering in heavenly oils, sipping collagen lattes, eating fruits, dry brushing before their showers, daily stretching, eating homemade food, loving on emotionally intelligent men, spending time in nature, creating whimsical art, getting closer to God, creating heaven on earth, seeing love in everything.

valentine's day is every day because I'm always looking for love in everything

STOP BEING SELF CONSCIOUS ABOUT YOUR CREATIONS STOP SECOND GUESSING WHAT YOU REALLY WANNA DO STOP DEBATING IT'S WORTH. LET YOUR ART SERVE YOU INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND

Babyphat05’s Bougie Guide 101

- Why do you want to change/reinvent yourself? Whether it’s to gain more confidence, to be a better version of yourself or to be happy with yourself, write a list of reasons as to why you want to make a change. I highly recommend journaling, it is important to journal your intentions and in this situation, journaling how you envision your future self to be is important. Write down where you see yourself in the next couple of years, months, days, or even weeks down to the T. Writing how you see your future self is a guideline, it causes you to want to keep going and keep striving. I forgot where I got this from, but it’s a good visualization technique. Earlier last year, I wrote down four of my idols and listed all the characteristics of each of them (Example: Kimora Lee Simmons/Confident, bold, unapologetic, bougie, knows what she wants) and I eventually studied their characteristics and obtained them. 

- Being Selfish with Your Time. When you make a decision to reinvent yourself and to go on a mental detox, cleansing your circle is extremely important. I read an article that says you should determine your current friends by asking yourself;

What kind of people surrounds me?

How are they acting towards me?

What are they doing for me?

Are they useful for my development and my personality?

If all of these answers are negative, you should drop them. The moment you detect someone doesn’t have good intentions, you should remove their access to you. In order to be confident, you should look at yourself as a luxury, not everyone should have the advantage to talk to you. Be stingy with your time and who you associate with. If you are surrounding yourself with people who aren’t doing anything productive and who are negative, it’s causing you to have the same mindset as them. Your inner circle should be full of same-minded individuals who are dedicated, smart, and genuine. It’s important to drop people who don’t match these criteria. Know your worth. Don’t give others second chances. People should only mess you over ONCE!! You have to let people know that they can’t treat you less than what you deserve. 

3. Being Confidence and Self Assured. It takes months or even years to reach a good amount of confidence. If you constantly work on your self every day and even “fake” the confidence, you will eventually obtain that ideal confident, self-assured persona. From Kimora herself, she says “confidence is what will get you noticed, it will give you credibility, it’s what will provide you with status.” Being passive, quiet and assertive is not helping you grow. You have to show more aggression, stick up for yourself and let others know you’re not the one to mess with. When you walk in a room, others should automatically straighten their posture and get intimidated by your presence. People should always talk to you with respect, and if they have the nerve to disrespect you, you should take it upon yourself to not allow it. Ask for what you want unapologetically. Practice talking in a loud, bold, clear tone and practice sitting up straight. Do little things like holding your head high and give others DIRECT eye contact. If you talk quiet voice, slouch, and have a persona that screams insecure, you can’t possibly expect others to respect you. Be assertive when you send your communication across. Know your worth. You should not tolerate games and disrespect. You should never mope around and get depressed. Like Naomi said herself, “when I feel an attack, I withdraw. I disappear, replenish, and then come back.” Work on your confidence everyday until you perfect it.

4. Moving in Silence. I’ve mentioned this sooo many times on my blog, so I’m going to be brief. Don’t tell others your goals. Don’t tell others nothing, tell others enough information so that they think they know what you’re up to. Even your closest friends. You never know who has hidden intentions. Promise to keep your goals between yourself and ONLY yourself. Don’t be the type to post subs on social media. No classy woman does this. They don’t even think to do something childish like that. Really think before communicating with others. Words are extremely powerful. Put yourself first while you’re on this “boss up mentality” journey. You don’t have to associate with others on an everyday basis. Get in tune with yourself and focus on your development.

5. Independence. This is so important! I learned a long time ago to not count on anyone for anything. Rely on yourself and only yourself. Open your own doors in life, resolve your own problems. Learn to do things on your own, learn to solve your own problems. Don’t rely on anyone to help you with anything in life. You got this, you should have the mindset that you don’t need anyone’s help.

1. Start Being in Tune with your Mind/Thoughts. We often think negative without even knowing it. Start eliminating phrases like I can’t and exchange them with I will. This will obvi take time, but sooner or later you will subconsciously always think positive without having to correct your negative thoughts. You can’t begin manifesting if you’re negative. If you start to think negative please catch yourself and get out of that mindset. You should remain to have a positive mindset at all times. Turn every situation you encounter into a positive, flip a bad situation into a good situation.

2. Begin Journaling. Writing down your goals on paper lets the universe know your intentions. Journal about how you envision your future self to be down to the T. Not even that, but journaling about your feelings is ten times better than ranting to someone. Vent about your day, your future goals, and what you want to do better the following week. Set yourself goals every month and as you begin to accomplish them one by one, you’ll feel satisfied.

3. Create Mood Boards/Vision boards!! This is something I personally love to do. Having pictures of how you envision your future self is important!! Especially vision boards, it’s helpful to outline how you want the following year to be. Looking at your vision board is used as inspiration and causes you to keep going. Examples of my mood boards:

4. Gather Some Affirmatives. Example: money is flowing into my life easily and effortlessly. You should come with at least five or six. Saying affirmative out loud the beginning of the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. This is extremely important!! You can not begin manifesting if you do not have some affirmatives that apply for your future goals. You can even look up positive affirmative on YouTube to listen to throughout the day. Set reminders every morning in your phone to remind you to read your affirmatives. Mind you, affirmatives and manifesting doesn’t work automatically. You have to continue working hard towards your goals every second of the day in order to accomplish them! Then, you will see results. The universe will NOT present you with abundance if you are just saying affirmative but not doing anything to make a change! Here are some of my favorites affirmatives on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmjrC-A5l7o&t=685s (wealth affirmatives)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5HGdD5tttg (positivity affirmatives)

5. Start Meditating. I can’t stress this enough, this is one of the main factors of manifesting (and why it works for me). Take 10-25 minutes out of your day to relax and meditate. Say your affirmative in your mind while doing so for a more positive effect. Meditation is also great for stress and anxiety. Take time out of your day to do this.

6. Get a Hobby. This is so important for everyone to do. In order to be the ultimate bougie, high-maintenance girl, you need to have a hobby. You need to be constantly busy with yourself so that you’re not sitting around with nothing to do. Don’t make yourself too available to people. Take yoga classes, take dance classes, take art classes; something so that you can focus on your own craft and have fun while doing so! Even if it’s something simple like learning a new language, having something to do during your freetime is fulfilling.

7. Ditch the Social Media. I know this is random, but like I said on my blog, scrolling through Instagram and twitter and tapping through Snapchat is a waste of time. This distracts yourself from your own reality when you could be focused on yourself. Ditch the gossip blogs. Stop worrying about celebrity drama and focus on your mental health and glowing up to your full potential. Seeing people’s ignorance on social media could have a huge influence on you, try to limit yourself on social media outlets. I find that this is helpful if you’re trying to level up.

At some point in your life, you may want to completely reinvent yourself. Reinventing yourself means to change aspects of yourself physically, mentally, or both.

This is also means that you are making progress in your life. Reinvention marks a period of growth, consistent growth.

1. Create a vision for your reinvention.

What does the new you look like? What is the future that you want? Who are the people, situations, and places you may have to leave behind?

Have a vision of who you want to become, and have a reason of why you want to become that.

-> Create a board of your aesthetic and ideas via Pinterest, Pic Collage, or Google Slides.

2. Know who you’re surrounding yourself with.

If you are surrounding yourself with people that are not going to keep it real with you, people that are envious of your success/new endeavors, or people that do not align with your core values, you have to cut them off.

Someone who truly values you as a person will care about the fact that you’re trying to better yourself, and join you along the journey. Letting go of dead weight will be a huge relief.

Remember that you’re your own best friend first, and don’t let anyone hold you back.

3. Express yourself.

This saying rings true. Dress the way the new you would, speak the way the new you would, and do the things the new you would do. Be expressive, be whoever you want to be. There’s no rule saying you can’t consistently change. Life allows you to be a chameleon.

4. Remember that you can become anything.

If you’re overall trying to become more confident as a person, you can become that.

-> Affirm yourself, instead of speaking negatively and affirming your harsh inner critic.

->Keep your back elongated when you walk into a room.

->Speak more articulately and slow down when speaking, pause between sentences. Have clear diction.

->Dress boldly and unapologetically, only for you and no one else.

If you’re trying to become more strong, you can become that.

->Have strict boundaries, and take no shit from anyone.

->Anyone that violates your core beliefs must go. Stand your ground.

->When you are going through a really hard time, get yourself together first and be in tune with your feelings first, don’t fall apart in public.

If you’re trying to become more private, you can become that.

->Learn to speak less about your personal problems.

->Vent to your diary/journal.

->Speak vaguely about what you’re doing and make general statements, make the other person talk about themselves.

If you’re trying to become more attractive, you can become that.

->Always look people in the eye.

->Laugh, smile, be genuine. Don’t push a fake persona.

->Learn that other people do not define you, such confidence is instantly appealing.

->Take care of yourself mentally and physically.

5. Live for yourself.

Ultimately, this journey is your own and no one else’s. Stop worrying so much about other people and what they think. Mute, block, unfollow or take a social media cleanse.

Learn to put yourself first. Reshape your relationship with other people’s expectations.

Don’t owe anyone anything, don’t expect anyone to owe you anything either.

Expectations come from a place of judgment. Judging yourself from a perfectionist eye does you no good. There is too much power in the present moment to dwell on expectations of what should be.

You can’t truly control what others think but you can control your inner critic which is why the way you talk to yourself is so crucial. It can make or break you.

You can also control the access people have in your life. If they refuse to accept your values, then you should distance yourself. Living for yourself is the best thing you can do because you make room for internal validation rather than external.

When you know your own worth, you do things for yourself, and that’s what makes it rewarding.

Always ask yourself the important questions:

What brings me happiness?

What would I love to accomplish?

Am I accepting reality? Am I making changes to my reality? What changes can I make?

What values are important to me?

Growth does not stop, it’s continuous. Your standards will continue to grow with you.

Your goal is to live a life you are proud of.

Taking appropriate risks outside of your comfort zone, upholding your boundaries and core values, competing with yourself to do your very best, and acknowledging that the process is what matters, not simply the end result.

Make this journey private and sacred, and transform with or without people alongside.

Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for wanting to create yourself over and over. You are your own artist.

Focus in on who you are now, and who you are becoming.

I hope this inspires you!