Coming into the new year, I made a commitment to myself to practice self love more.  And I knew that loving myself meant taking better care of myself. In order to do so, I’ve set a couple intentions to keep throughout the year:

Have a healthy mind AND body.

In my attempt to have a healthier mind and body, I’ve decided to start practicing yoga. I always thought that I needed to do high intensity workouts when it comes to being active and healthy, and never thought that I would enjoy yoga. However, after hearing first-hand experiences from a few girlfriends, I thought I should give it a try. I recently started my membership at Core Power Yoga and have been loving it so far! I’ve been trying to go 3-4 times a week (mostly in the mornings) and I can honestly say that it’s helped a lot with my mood and productivity as well as my mental health and awareness. I feel more calm and stress-free, and also feel more mindful of my time and surroundings. Core Power Yoga offers different types of classes but I have been loving their yoga sculpt classes because it includes cardio and weights (yes, you heard that right!). If you're interested in checking them out, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial here. On my lighter weeks, I also try to go to the gym at least once or twice to do cardio and heavier weights.

Always remember: It's not about how you look, it's how YOU feel about yourself.

We all get motivated in the beginning of the year but it’s so easy to get side tracked, especially with our busy lives. But once you treat your workout as more of a habit than a chore, it gets a lot easier to be more consistent with it. Simply put, avoid all excuses and make your health a priority!

Keep a healthy, non-strict diet.

A few months ago, I found myself feeling more sluggish than usual and even got sick a couple times. I took it as a sign and started making healthier choices when it comes to what I eat. I started cooking healthier meals at home and have been incorporating more fruits and veggies in my diet. After a couple months, I started shedding a few pounds even though I wasn’t working out! I have been replacing white rice with brown rice, quinoa or greens, and I have been trying to avoid refined sugars. Note: this is my secret to getting those abs pop out!

Don’t get me wrong, this was such a HUGE challenge for me because I’ve always been surrounded by dishes that come with rice, and I have THE biggest sweet tooth ever. But since I crave healthy food when I workout, it got easier over time. It also helps a lot when you make yourself food at home.

Remind yourself that HEALTHY is better than SKINNY.

My biggest advice to you is to find out what works best for you and your body. Crazy strict diets are not always the solution, and I’m not planning on doing one anytime soon. I just try to make sure that I maintain a healthy diet by including fruits and veggies in my meals, and then I treat the weekends as my cheat days where I can indulge with friends and loved ones. With that being said, I’ve been able to keep a healthy weight and still live my best life. It’s really all about balance, and my goal is to simply feel good inside-out (without sacrificing too much).

That’s all I have to share for now! I will try to keep you updated on my wellness journey as time goes by, and I do hope that this post will inspire you to make better and healthier choices for yourself. You can shop a few of my current favorite workout essentials below:

Photography by KSOLE

It’s the new year and we’re given another fresh, clean start. Instead of writing my resolutions, I want to share with you my goals for the year. I believe that these goals will help me become a better version of myself, and help me make 2017 an amazing one.

2016 was so good to me. It was definitely a time of learning and transitioning. Shortly after I decided to quit my job and start full-time blogging, I came across so many great opportunities I never thought would come my way. I worked with brands I only dreamed of working with. I got lost and fell in love with new cities, experienced life-changing adventures, and most importantly, I learned so much more about myself and I’ve never been happier.

So to make 2017 just as great, here are my goals for the new year:

1. WELLNESS FROM WITHIN

This year, I will make more time for to nourish my mind, body and soul. I was so focused on working my ass off this past year that I forgot to take care of myself in all aspects. All I cared about was growing my business, not thinking about the consequences. I was often unmotivated and worn out, and all of this was because I wasn’t nourished from within. So here are a few short term goals to help me:

To nourish the mind, I plan to buy good books and make time to read them no matter how busy I am; to nourish the body, I plan to drink lots of water and exercise daily even when its sounds like a terrible idea; and to nourish the soul, I plan to dedicate my time on a cause close to my heart, and to always try to see the best in others.

2. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

This year, I will shift my focus on things that add value to my life. And if it doesn’t, I will let it go. I’m currently cleaning out my room and renovating it soon after. Looking at all the things I acquired from the past year, it made me realize that one) I’m kind of a hoarder (LOL) and two) there’s a lot off stuff I keep that I don’t need or never even used. So this year I plan to focus on quality, whether it’s shopping for clothes or making/keeping relationships. I will purge the unnecessary and decrease clutter, and most importantly, make time for people and things I really care about.

3. STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

This year, I really want to challenge myself more. Whether its being more open-minded and creative with my style or craft, or doing more activities to face my fear of heights. This will be the year where I push the boundaries, MY boundaries. I know I played it safe this past year because I had some doubts and insecurities. But now that I have a better understanding of myself, it's time to really push myself to the limit. I want to try new things, learn new ways, and become more daring than ever.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.””

— Neil Gaiman

I hope that this inspires you to reflect and make your own goals or resolutions for the year because it never hurts! It only set us up for success and helps us become a better version of ourselves. I love listing out my goals not only at the beginning of the year but all throughout, because it always gives me something to look forward to, and I know that I’m constantly working on myself. Each day is a fresh start, so let’s strive to be better than we were yesterday.

Cheers to 2017 and to new beginnings!

(Dress by Lioness c/o Princess Polly + Heels by Missguided)