Live Colorfully

Good morning! Happy Sunday!


I have a love-hate relationship with Sundays. While it pains me to know the weekend is coming to an end (being a Full-time working girl can be hard, ya know!), I do love the peacefulness of Sundays. I love sleeping in a bit and being lazy before going to church and lunch with the famjam. Sundays are calm...

and I must add I'm quite happy with where I am right now: in bed...watching Gossip Girl (for the 3rd time)... with a bowl of Raisin Bran in hand. I'll be the first to say the Sunday life is good.

It is important to remind yourself when life is good so that you always have something to remember when things go wrong. Now, without being as cliche as possible, I attended the movie, The Fault in our Stars last night. I read the book with a heavy heart a few months back and the movie quickly brought my friend and I to tears as we watched it in the theater. It was a reminder that while we, in our present bodies, are not invincible, love really is. "Pain demands to be felt," but love will give you strength. Love itself is strength. It's power.

I vow to " l i v e  c o l o r f u l l y. " Yes, I know this could be seen as just a Kate Spade motto, but it is really so much more than that. Live easy my friends. Be happy and notice the vibrant shades of brilliant colors around you. Notice every single one.

Photo credit

Happy H A P P Y Monday?

Hello beauties! Happy Monday!!

Photo Credit: Courtney E. Carter

Courtney's excited for it to be Monday? What? Yes, I'm aware Mondays are not always fun. I know, I know. I'll be the first to say that getting out of bed this morning was not anywhere close to easy. However, what if we were to think about Monday in a different light?

Last year, my high school Latin teacher told my class to think about Mondays as having five new days to make a difference. When she first said that, I thought she was crazy and out of her mind! But, when you think about it, you realize that it's completely true. It's a new school and work week, so what if we all made the goal to be more positive and to try influence as many as we can?

So with that said, good morning,
and HAPPY Monday everyone! Let's all
use this week to make a difference and to inspire... one person at a time.

Today, I'm going for the super casual look for this beautiful 60 degree weather. Boat shoes, jeggings, and a comfy long sleeved shirt is my perfect kind of lounge-wear!

Inspire on.

Work hard, give back, and love.

Inhale. Exhale.

There should be many times in everyone's life dedicated to stepping back and just breathing. There should be times to just stop and look over one's life. Inhale. Exhale. Life is a busy thing. We are always on some kind of schedule, have a place where we need to go, or have a task we need to complete. Inhale. We are always going, going, going. Working, working, working. There is school, chores, work, cleaning, exercising, teaching, studying, cooking, building, creating. Am I right? Exhale.

Stop and breath.

Some things I use to relax are warm baths with bath balls, soft music, and tea or hot chocolate.

And once you have gathered yourself together, ask yourself where you are going. There is no sense in looking back. We will never get last year, last month, or even yesterday back, so where are you going? And what are you doing that will help you get there?

There's this cycle I have noticed... for me an almost robotic routine. I'm a freshman in college, and now that things have changed a little bit since I'm on winter break, I've had an ample amount of time to just think about my life. I have realized that in college I wake up, get ready, go to classes, eat at my sorority house, study, call/text my parents, occasionally go out for a party, shower, get ready for bed, watch Netflix and/or youtube and sleep. I have done that same routine over and over with a few differences depending on the day of the week. However, for the most part, that is how my life goes right now.

So, how is this impacting the Courtney I want to be in 10, 5, or even one year? How is it making the me that I want to become and be proud of? Who do I look up to? Who and what do I dislike. Who was I? Who am I?

Everything that you do has a positive or negative effect, so make sure what you're doing is worth it. We all have a purpose, but it is up to each and every one of us to decide how we are going to become the best rate of ourselves and how we are going to accomplish what we were put on this earth to do.

We all have to discover our own strengths, but it all starts with right here and right now. Stop, and think. Who were you, who are you, and where are you going?

Work hard, Give back, and love
xoxo, Courtney
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Photos were not taken by me. I used the photos from:
http://floorcrafthome.com/bath.html
http://www.lush.com
http://www.iherb.com
http://noliesradio.org