Blog
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DisneyBound Challenge 1: Favorite Princess
I’m participating in two DisneyBound challenges this year, and I’m looking forward to sharing these outfits with you! Olivia Wolfertz of Unpolished Ponderings and I will be putting together two looks—the first is inspired by our favorite Disney princess and the second will be inspired by a villain. A bonus? It’s easy to DisneyBound with chronic illness!
First up: what’s DisneyBounding? It’s a fun way to dress up inspired by the colors and aesthetics of your favorite characters, without going for a full costume.
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My Recent Reads – Fairy Tale Edition
I just realized its been over a year since I’ve shared my favorite recent reads with you! To narrow down my picks, I’m excited to share my favorite fairy tales I’ve read so far in 2021.
When it comes to picking books lately, I’m finding myself having trouble concentrating and feeling the weight of decision fatigue. When this happens, I gravitate toward my favorite genre: fantasy.
I keep finding myself coming back to fairy tales or books with elements of fairy tales. I think it’s been a helpful escape with so much going on in the world as well as all the challenges I’m continuing to face with my health. Fairy tale worlds feel both excitingly new and welcomingly familiar.
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Thoughts On “Sun Guilt” And How To Enjoy The Outdoors With Chronic Illness
Don’t worry, this isn’t a post pressuring you to go outside more or insisting you should get outside every day. With chronic illness and pain, sometimes this isn’t realistic. So let’s talk about ways to benefit from and enjoy being outdoors with chronic illness. For me, planning and pacing are key.
In fact, I’m giving myself permission to be outside less or not go outside at all, even on days when the weather is ideal. I’m trying to balance benefitting from nature with listening to my body.
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My Go To Natural Skin Care Products
I’m so excited to share this list of my favorite natural skin care products with you! It’s taken me many years to find lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc. that don’t flare up my health conditions. I’m really passionate about this topic because I think everyone should have the tools and information to avoid toxins and make healthier decisions in their everyday life.
I hope that all the products I’ve researched and tried will help you on your journey to better health.
What we put on our bodies matters, especially for those of us with chronic illness. These are the skincare products that don’t aggravate my asthma, fibromyalgia, and other chronic conditions.
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Why To Use Natural Skin Care Products If You Have A Chronic Illness
Why choose natural skin care products? I’m going to share a quick overview of some of the potential health impacts of chemicals that you’d think are safe—after all, they’re in everyday products like lotion, shampoo, deodorant, and soap. I hope this post is a useful resource for learning more about the ingredients in skin care products so you can choose healthier options, especially if you have a chronic illness.
If you’re already dealing with chronic illness or health issues (like I am—more on that below) it’s even more important to address irritants and triggers that could be contributing to underlying conditions—or just making overall health worse.
And even if you’re healthy, there are many reasons everyone should avoid harmful chemicals lurking in skin care products.
Here’s a quick look at chemicals to avoid, where you can find more research about those chemicals, and resources for finding healthier alternatives.
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How To Throw A Fun And Interactive Virtual Escape Room
I’m excited to share my tips for throwing a fun and interactive virtual escape room! I’ve been wanting to throw a party tied to the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb for awhile, and an escape room seemed like the perfect fit for my birthday celebration. Getting to play archaeologist and dress like Evie from The Mummy was something I’ve been looking forward to!
Here’s how I made my 1920s-meets-ancient-Egypt party come to life—via Zoom!
These tips can be used by anyone to connect with others from a distance, whether you’re socially distancing or looking for ways to catch up with friends and family who live far away. You could use these tips for customizing in-person escape rooms too.
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My Interview on Unpolished Ponderings
I’m excited to share more of my chronic illness journey and what inspires me creatively in a guest post I was invited to participate in!
Fellow chronic illness blogger Olivia Wolfertz interviewed me over on her blog, Unpolished Ponderings.
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Blogging Without A Picture Perfect Life
There’s so much pressure online to have a picture perfect life and to have every moment Instagramable, that it can be very daunting to think of starting or maintaining a blog. Do you need to have everything put together and looking immaculate in order to share your story online? I’m here to remind myself and others that the answer is “no.” Here are my tips for blogging without a picture perfect life, and how I’m letting go of perfectionism as a chronic illness writer.
I am a perfectionist, or at least someone who’s trying to be less of a perfectionist. My preference would be to wait to share my writing or photography or crafting until I’ve gotten it polished and as close to perfect as possible. But I live with multiple chronic illnesses that greatly limit my energy and ability to accomplish even routine tasks, so even publishing one post on my blog is a challenge.
