How Friendships Change
You can’t stop it – friendships change. This article about friendship in The Atlantic gives interesting insight and research in how friendships shift, especially in today’s digital age. I think the article gives excuses to why we take friendships for granted. Friendships aren’t a commitment like work or kids. Facebook makes it easy to think friendships are closer than they appear. But the article does emphasize the fact that face-to-face interaction is best!

Filling Space
“Just because you have an empty space doesn’t mean you have to fill it.” – The Minimalists. Advertising and social norms have made us afraid of empty space. I’m not only talking about walls and bookshelves but of time. Instead of filling our spaces and time with junk, why don’t we fill them with things we love and that bring joy? Have you watched the Minimalism film on Netflix yet?

When Your Husband Dies
I think I’ve said this before, but I’m fascinated by death and the process of mourning by loved ones. It’s like the love has intensified times a million. It seems like you feel everything and nothing. And for us watching, it gives a perspective of how we should be living – not taking things for granted and loving deeper. That’s why I enjoyed this article on The Everygirl, as heart-breaking as it is. Some people feel the fire of love through romance novels. I feel the depth of love through stories about mourning. It reminds me that I want to love and be loved like that. Isn’t that the deepest wish most people have?

Girls of the Wild
I saw this the other day and wanted to share. It’s by Nikita Gill.

Traveling: Roatan and Big Bend National Park
This month I took two long-weekend trips. It definitely satisfied my wanderlust. First came scuba diving in Roatan and then a long road trip to West Texas to visit Marfa and (finally!) Big Bend National Park. I stayed in a teepee! Check out those blog posts and let me know what you think!

THIS VIDEO
I’ve been following Ruthie Lindsey on Instagram for a while. This beautiful soul released a touching video this month that is so full of hope. It will definitely lift your spirits!

Good Relationships = Life of Fulfillment
Isn’t it silly how with all the research and stories, we still have trouble focusing on what will fulfill our lives? I know I struggle with it off and on. This 75-year research study proved that good relationships make people happier and healthier. (Psst…not the number of likes on Instagram! BUT I don’t think Instagram was around during this study so…)

In Praise of Ugly Food
Food bloggers will enjoy this article. It talks about the struggles of how photos make or break your popularity. Sometimes food, usually comfort food, is ugly. Why can’t it get more love? I want to hear what you think about this.

Let’s Entertain More
Speaking of food and life fulfillment, in this study, people were asked what their biggest home regrets were and the consistent answer was not entertaining more. Challenge accepted! Who’s coming over for dinner?

Sweating it Out at SoulCycle
I was excited to share my love of spin classes with my friends by organizing a class at SoulCycle. The ladies rocked the very sweaty, hour-long class!

Who Makes Your Clothes?
An organization called The People Label is challenging us to think about the clothes we buy. Is it the best quality? Was it made ethically? Check out the website to explore more!

Marriage Advice From Divorced People
This post has some insightful advice about how to care for your relationships!

Watching: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
My friend Abbie introduced me to the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend earlier this year and I love it! Seasons 1 and 2 of this CW show are on Netflix now. If you like musicals and comedy, you may like it!

Don’t Be a Crehater
This article was a hard and refreshing read. On one hand, I want to send it to all the crehaters out there who aren’t as collaborative as I expect them to be. (Hello, managing expectations!) We’re all working so hard, and it takes a village to get to success. On the other hand, it’s an embarrassing reminder about how supportive I could be. I think being a crehater has to do with jealousy and fear. Fear is at the root of jealousy. When we see others succeed (via social media highlights), we’re afraid that we might not ever experience that success. So, here’s a reminder to myself and you to keep encouraging those around you!

What’s captivating you lately?

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The post Captivations v.34: Change, Advice, Growth appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

March has flown by! I lived vicariously through all my friends who went to SXSW event after event. I felt more at ease than the last two months because I’m scheduling less and preparing ahead more. What else is captivating me? Take a look!

Love
This New York Times article might make you cry. What a relationship goal to pursue! The writer, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, died 10 days after the article was published. The article is a bittersweet reminder of how to live and how to love.

BE Conference
I was excited to join my friend Janna at the first BE Conference this month. The best session was hearing from my hero Kristen Bell talk about women empowerment, partnerships, and the hustle. The day was an inspiring program of female leaders who have worked their way to where they are, and it was interesting to hear their stories and encouragement. Here are some tidbits I walked away with:

• Every single founder of a big company stuck with it when things got difficult. (Don’t give up!)
• Be true to what you believe and what you’re building. Filter feedback.
• Do your best work as much as you can.
• Show up and kill them with competence.
• Take the time to be a critical thinker.
• As women, vulnerability is our superpower!

Read: What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding
Reading has been fast-paced this year! One of my favorite books so far is What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman. It’s filled with travel stories and an over-arching story about how Kristin learned what she wanted in life. The book inspired my wanderlust and gave thoughtful wisdom about how to view life. Overall, it was entertaining and I would recommend it for travel lovers!

Goals: Workout 3x a Week
I rocked this goal this month! I took at least one spin class every week (sometimes two) and enjoyed my last month of ClassPass. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep using it but I do have a one-month membership to one of my favorite studios to use first. I would love to run more (cheaper and closest workout to home) but we’ll see about that. I’ve loved rotating between some of my favorite workout studios in Austin. What do you do for exercise? Anything you’d recommend?

Blogger Parties + Crawfish Boil
I’ve loved throwing blogger parties this month! It’s a win-win to promote a business, create fun content, and get to know my fellow Austin bloggers better. I posted about our aerials class at Sky Candy and I’ll have more details about our pole dancing class next month. Boyfriend and I also hosted our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil!

#ATXBloggerMixer
This month was the latest #ATXBloggerMixer event, and this time it was a workout at SoulCycle. We had a sweaty class and then enjoyed juice and snacks from JuiceLand and cookies from Shortbread Baking Co.

Now Listening
-I listened to Jim Gaffigan’s audiobook for Dad is Fat. So funny! Great read/listen for parents, I bet!
–It Ain’t Me by Kygo and Selena Gomez
–Stay by Zedd and Alessia Cara

Tiny Wardrobe Tour
I’m going through a BIG decluttering process right now. I’ve gotten rid of lots of stuff and am continuing to pare down what I own. This includes half my wardrobe, the majority of my books, and lots of items that I wasn’t using in every room. Seriously, the amount of stuff that has gone to Goodwill, the trash, and recycling is baffling. So, when Courtney Carver, a minimalist blogger, had a tour stop in Austin, it was the perfect timing. While I don’t think I’ll have a capsule wardrobe of 33 items every month like she does, I can do more to live more with less and to own things that I truly love. Her talk was encouraging to pare down my stuff even more and seek out higher-quality clothes that fit well. Any recommendations of where to shop? I’m thinking Madewell and Loft so far. (See more minimalism posts on my blog here.)

What’s captivating you lately?

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Shibori Indigo Dye Workshop
One of my goals this year is to complete a creative project every month. This month I took a shibori indigo dye workshop at HIVE. The result was two very colorful tea towels! How have you been creative lately? Any crafts you’d recommend?

For the Record
Actress Jennifer Aniston wrote a piece on Huffington Post speaking out about the expectations society put on women daily. It’s a great reminder that we should see the characteristics of a person and not only their roles in life as valuable.

Change
I think the word change is always an unconscious ‘word of the year’ in our lives. (See the actual words I picked out for my 2016 here.) We encounter a lot of change throughout the year and many times, it’s only in hindsight do we realize its effects. And then there’s active change. Things we want to accomplish or things we need to accomplish. I like this thought-provoking quote from Nicole about change: “Change is hard because it forces us to confront the size of the gap between our ideals and our actions.” How big is your gap and how do you work to narrow it?

ATXBloggerMixer
Fellow Austin blogger Jesse Coulter and I hosted the quarterly ATXBloggerMixer this month and it was so much fun! It’s always fun to connect with bloggers in real life and talk shop about what we do. I also enjoyed hearing Kirsten, CEO and founder of Raven + Lily speak about how she has grown her company and the importance behind their mission of empowering women around the world.

• Thank you to Raven + Lily for having us at their new store in the Domain Rock Rose!
• Thank you to Mighty Swell Cocktails, Shortbread Baking Co, and Salvation Pizza for the yummy snacks!
• Thank you to Oh Happy Day Booth for the photo booth!
• Thank you to Viva Day Spa, Birds Barbershop, and CorePower Yoga for the giveaways!

Foodies of Austin Unite
Speaking of bloggers, did you know there is a vibrant food blogger community (Austin Food Bloggers Alliance) in Austin? It’s no secret that Austin is a foodie city, and many restaurant reviewers and recipe creators are a part of this group. Check out the Facebook page to see regular posts from members and check out the annual City Guides to find the best eats in town!

On Growing Up
It’s my 10-year high school reunion this year. (Cue all the exclamations of being “old.”) In our alumni Facebook group, people have been posting “where are you now” updates, giving a few short paragraphs about what has happened in their lives in the 10 years since high school. I was thinking about these stories and my story and I think we all ended up ok, despite what we might have thought then. Sure, where we are now might not be exactly where we thought we would be, but we’re smarter and stronger. In reflecting, I’m proud of the personal growth I’ve experienced to become more bold and thoughtful, the degree I earned, and that I no longer have a middle part and bushy eyebrows. What have you learned or are you most proud of in the last 10 years?

Now Listening
Here’s the music on my playlist lately.
“Stole the Show” by Kygo
“River” by Bishop Briggs
“Close” by Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo
“Never Be Like You” by Flume
“Into You” by Ariana Grande
“Capsize” by Frenship and Emily Warren

50 Best Burgers in Texas
Texas Monthly released their annual 50 best burgers list, so you’re in for a treat. I would definitely vouch for two of Austin’s winners – Chicon (had the burger at Contigo and Gardner) and Hopdoddy – and I can’t wait to try the ones at Central Standard, Clark’s Oyster Bar, Texas French Bread and Second Bar + Kitchen. Have you tried any of these fine burgers around Texas?

Simple Living and Finding Your True Self
Sometimes we think way too much about life and make it more complicated than it needs to be. This simple post on Becoming Minimalist was a great reminder of aligning your values and coming back to your true self. Be sure to give it a read!

What have you been captivated by lately? Any cool articles, videos or products you want to share in the comments below?

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Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories and news that captivated me. Take a look at all the things captivating me lately.

What Makes a Good Life?
After tracking 724 men for 75 years, researchers found the relationships in their lives were the big predictor of happiness and healthiness – not money and fame as the men said at the beginning of the study. As psychiastrist Robert Waldinger mentions in his TED talk, relationships are messy, complicated and hard work, but if you want a good life, lean in and build those close relationships!

Bullrider at Rodeo Austin

8 out of 10 women encounter negativity on social media. A lot of the negativity is what we say about ourselves. Proud to support @dove with their new #SpeakBeautiful Effect social media tool. It empowers us to speak more positively about ourselves. Give it a try today! #DovePartner

A photo posted by Anita Cheung (@wanderlustanita) on Mar 12, 2016 at 12:28pm PST

What have you been captivated by lately?

The post Captivations v.21 appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I tore my place apart this week. I started with cleaning out my closet, taking out clothes I haven’t worn in more than a year and pieces almost nine years old that are waiting to be trendy again. That started a firestorm, leading me to pull stuff from here and there in a scatterbrained manner until the floor of my room was covered in piles of donate, keep and trash. It’s amazing the amount of stuff I accumulated in nine years. I wouldn’t call myself a packrat or hoarder but a sensible human being with good stuff that I could use “someday.” (That’s what I’m telling myself anyways.) Someday didn’t come soon enough and I’m in the midst of downsizing my belongings.

This isn’t totally out of character for me. I’ve purged my belongings several times in the last nine years but this time, I’m coming from a more intense mindset. I’ve been connecting more with minimalism this year, and it’s not what I thought it was when I first heard about it. In the most visible and tangible category of minimalism, it’s getting rid of the abundance of clothes and physical items until you’re down to the very essentials. But it’s much more than stuff. Minimalism is being conscious and intentional in what brings you happiness. The Minimalists describe it well: “Minimalism is the tool that helped us simplify our lives by stripping away the excess so we could focus on what’s truly important.” Ultimately, by stripping away the excess, they found more simple yet meaningful and happier lives.

I’m not going to the extremes of minimalism, but I am putting more thought into how I can make small changes here and there to achieve a simple, meaningful, and happy lifestyle. It still involves goals, ambition, and owning stuff, but it’s all more intentional. So, I’m starting with the physical stuff. That includes stuff I don’t use, wear and need, and it’ll all go to donation centers or the trash. (It’s going really well so far!) Then, the next phase is buying better. I know when it comes to buying, I would rather spend my money on travel and good food. My priority isn’t physical items with a shelf life. To help guide me, these are my minimalist rules for mindful owning and buying.

1. Buy things I love and will put to good use.

If I try on clothes and say “I could make this work,” I won’t buy it. I’ll buy pieces I know will go with something I already have, that fit well and that make me excited to wear. I’ll buy household items, including party supplies, I can put to good use.

2. Purchase things I really need.

Do I need another tank top when I have 10 other versions at home? No. Do I really need the cute tablecloth that would be perfect for a fall-themed dinner party I may throw someday? Probably not. (Yes, these are the party planning desires I go through when I shop.) Eventually, after the stuff is used up by me and second and third owners, it ends up in a landfill and I can choose not to be in that cycle.

3. Choose quality.

Although my clothes tend to last for a long time (even the cheaper Forever 21 pieces), I want to invest in better quality yet still affordable clothing. This may mean not buying trends, choosing more classic and neutral pieces, and choosing pieces that can transition through the seasons. Buying quality is a no-brainer when it comes to physical stuff!

4. Practice gratitude and get creative.

Many times, buying something comes from the “need” for something new. When the newness wears off, it’s still stuff, and there will always be new things that catch my eye. But remembering the above guidelines and what I already have and being grateful for those things can help curb the desires. Also, getting creative by mixing pieces of clothing up or refreshing a physical item with a DIY project can give me something new even when it’s old. Thank you, Pinterest!

Interested in reading more about minimalism? The Minimalists’ 21 Days guide is very thought-provoking and their website is filled with insight. Specifically relating to clothes, check out the capsule wardrobe, a habit where people downsize their closets to 37 (or whatever number they choose) pieces per season.

What do you think about minimalism? Do you have any tips and tricks to mindful living and buying?

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*Photo by Death to Stock Photo

The post 4 Minimalist Rules for Mindful Owning and Buying appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

#LoveWins
What a day we had on Friday, June 26, 2015! The Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in all 50 states and it broke the Internet and caused many happy tears. I’m happy that people committed in love can officially show the world and have the same rights. “Our love is real” is what the first couple in my county said when they got married on Friday. I hope no couple in love ever has to feel that their love is not legitimate ever again. The last paragraph in the Supreme Court’s decision says enough for all.

What do you want to be weighed on?
I LOVE this post and this campaign by Lean Cuisine. We sometimes forget that there’s beauty on the inside and it’s ok to be proud of the things you’ve accomplished, endured and learned. Take a look at the video at the end of the post or below. This year I’m proud of becoming more vulnerable and honest to the people around me, chasing my passion of party planning and opening up my mind to what a life of adventure looks like. What are you most proud of lately?

You are precious. You are not alone.
Mental illness and depression is a subject I care about because I feel deeply for those close to me who have and do endure it. I’m glad it is becoming something we are not afraid to talk about, though it is incredibly vulnerable and brave. I read three posts this month that I thought were great insights into the subject. It’ll give you an idea of what depression feels like and how our compassion and openness to people who endure it can make a difference. Check out this post about understanding the stigma my friend wrote, Momastery’s post of encouragement and Hannah Brencher’s post.

I’m Scuba-Certified!
After 6 classes, 26 hours, and 6 dives in Lake Travis (one going to 60 ft!), I’m scuba-certified! Visibility in Lake Travis was only 3-8 feet so I’m very excited to try out my new skill in clear, blue waters somewhere else. No trip planned yet but hopefully soon! If you have location recommendations, let me know!

Minimalism
I’ve been drawn to the ideas of minimalism lately. It’s not only about having less physical things but being intentional about the things you include in your life. I loved Collin Wright’s answers in this interview, especially what minimalism means to him:

“To me, minimalism is the intentional, focused use of my time, energy, and resources (like money). It’s knowing myself well enough to understand what brings me joy and fulfillment, and what helps me grow, so that I can focus on those activities, relationships, habits, and everything else.”

For me, I’m trying minimalism by cleaning out my home of clothing and accessories I don’t need and investing in quality products that truly bring me joy. I’m also being conscious of how I spend my time and what brings me joy. If you want more guidance, check out fellow Austin blogger Lauren’s minimalist living posts and this simple list of how to live with less.

My photo was printed in the paper!
Austin360, the Austin American-Statesman’s supplement, printed the Instagram photo I took at Adelbert’s Brewery (top left). I’m proud of it!

Why you should give up your dream
“It was only by pursuing one dream—and then giving it up—that I was able to find a new, better one.” It’s ok to admit that your dreams can change. It’s ok if they do. Ask yourself the hard questions continuously to make sure you’re still living your dream.

What’s captivating you lately?

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