Life Update ❣ Bucket list adventures, Traveling Europe, New products..

Summer of 2018.. you've been sweet.

A lot has happened not just this summer, but over the last year. I've tried new things, such as... 
  ⋄ Surfing, thanks to my adventurous best friend Ally. We surfed in early May in Newport when it was raining and freezing out and I loved (almost) every minute of it! I'm pretty sure I almost got caught in a rip tide though..
  ⋄ Escargot, thanks to my dear friend Tom Samet. We had it at Le Charlot, Southampton and it was delicious.
  ⋄ Rock climbing, again thanks to Ally. 

Oh and I got a tattoo too.. Surprise! I don't have any good photos of it, but it's on my ribs on my right side and says "Siamo tutti angeli con una sola ala, possiamo volare solo se ci abbracciamo l'uno con l'altro." in script, which translates to "We are all angels with only one wing, we can fly only if we embrace each other." I've been thinking about this tattoo for about five years now, but never bit the bullet. A few months ago a family member of mine was going through a rough time and when he/she was coming out of that rough time, he/she wanted a tattoo for his/her own personal reasons and asked if I wanted to join and get one too. The reason I was debating that tattoo for years and never bit the bullet, was because although the quote is beautiful and means a lot to me, I wanted a tattoo with even more special, specific meaning. Now it has just that and I absolutely love it. I actually want one more, but I'm in no rush. 

I've also gone on a few vacations..
  ⋄ Estero, FL visiting my grandparents
  ⋄ Ocean City, MD partying with friends
  ⋄ Montauk, NY celebrating my birthday with friends
And I've been making some changes in my life. 
I've given myself a nice daily and weekly routine that'll keep me sane and happy. If I don't have some form of routine, I can get lost and feel like life is whizzing by me. It's rather simple and just includes giving myself the morning to do something I enjoy while drinking my coffee, whether that's reading a book or entering sweepstakes, which is a guilty pleasure of mine.🙈 
It also includes stopping work at 6pm, unless I really have to or want to work past that time, practicing Italian, being more consistent with my skincare and haircare, having an at-home spa day on Sundays, and enjoying Netflix without feeling bad for just sitting down and watching TV. I'm also trying to ease up on myself when it comes to working out and eating healthy. Any form of exercise is better than none, and it's not the end of the world or a failure if I miss a day or two, or even a week. Also, I'll never restrict myself when it comes to food. Life is short, and I love healthy food and try to eat mostly real whole foods, but I also love a nice spicy fried chicken sandwich every once in a while and I shouldn't feel guilty or beat myself up afterwards. As Julia Roberts says in one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite movies, 

"Let me ask you something, in all the years that you have...undressed in front of a gentleman has he ever asked you to leave? Has he ever walked out and left? No? It's because he doesn't care! He's in a room with a naked girl, he just won the lottery. I am so tired of saying no, waking up in the morning and recalling every single thing I ate the day before, counting every calorie I consumed so I know just how much self loathing to take into the shower. I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese, I'm just through with the guilt. So this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to finish this pizza, and then we are going to go watch the soccer game, and tomorrow we are going to go on a little date and buy ourselves some bigger jeans." 

When you're relaxed about something and don't hold yourself to such strict, often unrealistic, standards, and just let yourself enjoy life, you have a better chance of actually accomplishing the goals you want to accomplish. And my goals are just to be happy and healthy.

I've also been working on a bucket list. I've mentioned it briefly on Instagram that I have a long list of things I want to do before I turn 25. Here are a few of them..
  ⋄ Visit Greece 
  ⋄ Travel across Europe
  ⋄ Become fluent in Italian
  ⋄ Road trip across the US
  ⋄ Go canoeing
  ⋄ Go parasailing
  ⋄ Water ski
  ⋄ Scuba dive
  ⋄ Snowboard
  ⋄ Ski
  ⋄ Learn sailing
  ⋄ Learn guitar (acoustic and electric)
  ⋄ Learn Krav Maga
  ⋄ Take kick boxing lessons
  ⋄ Start a YouTube channel 
  ⋄ Go to Hawaii
  ⋄ Learn Hawaiin
  ⋄ Learn Greek
  ⋄ Learn how to make a camp fire 
  ⋄ Go to a rock concert 
  ⋄ Go to a country concert 
  ⋄ See a waterfall
  ⋄ Go to Alaska and see the aurora borealis
  ⋄ Go on a safari
  ⋄ Take dance lessons
  ⋄ Zip line
  ⋄ Go to the opera
  ⋄ Sing karaoke at a karaoke bar
  ⋄ Take acting lessons
And can you believe I have more? But the rest are a bit personal. I'm not going to go broke or crazy trying to accomplish all of these before I'm 25, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to accomplish at least half or more. I know one item I will definitely be checking off next year though.. Traveling across Europe!💃 June 2019 I'll be traveling with my best friend across Greece (Mykonos), Italy (Amalfi Coast), France (Provence & Paris), England (London), and Ireland (Dublin), and I'm beyond excited. If you friends have any travel tips or favorite places, I'd love to know them!

I've also made some changes in my life regarding Hampton Ivy. I went through a period of feeling lost, overwhelmed, and insecure about my future and abilities. I managed to snap myself out of it, or really my mom helped me, and now I've given myself a nice routine and schedule that I believe will bring huge growth this fall and winter and next year. Routines, schedules, and lists are my saving grace in life. I have goals, but I've choosen to focus less on the end goals now and focus more on the steps to get there, with no pressure on when I get there. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that every successful entrepreneur I've listened to took almost 10 years of doing business before they became what others have perceived as "over night successes". As long as you hunker down and follow the steps you need to take to get there, you'll reach your goals when the time is right.

What you can expect from Hampton Ivy this fall and winter and 2019: 
  ⋄ New product launches.. home decor, apparel
  ⋄ New releases.. more scarves, new jewelry
  ⋄ Locations near you.. we're partnering with more and more retail stores to carry our line
  ⋄ More fun! Newsletters, blog posts, events, show booths, giveaways, etc.

And I think that's all the updates I have! Do you friends have anything big and new going on in your lives or do you have anything on your bucket list you want to check off this year? If you're willing to share, comment them down below!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you friends have a wonderful day.

xo