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Three Habits I'd Like to STOP Doing // Pugs & Pearls Blog

So, what do you think: Is it harder to start a new habit or quit an old one? 

With our current busy schedule, I've been so good at planning ahead and keeping organized. It's the only thing that is keeping me on track! As I've been planning I've been thinking about my mission statement for the year and ways that I can better accomplish that as we enter the second half of 2018. (It's almost June!!)

So many of our goals are all about starting new habits or doing something new. Like: starting a workout routine, or making a new budget. Maybe it's my mind set lately, but all I can think of are things I want to stop doing!

Here is what I'm thinking:

I want to stop talking about myself.
In all honesty, I think this habit got started because of blogging. If you come to my blog then you obviously do care some measure about me and my life. But I cannot assume that everyone in real life cares about the details I share here. 

I've noticed in many conversations lately that I'm turning the subject back to myself. Ironically, I hate it when other people do this to me. If someone changes the subject like that, it makes you feel like what you were saying wasn't important or that they don't care. That's not what I want to do to somebody, especially because I do care what they are saying. It's just a bad habit, and most of the time it's because I don't what else to say. 

Instead, I would really like to ask more questions about whatever it is the person is saying and show them that I truly do care about them and their life. It's so flattering when someone takes an interest in you like that! 

I want to stop checking my phone so often.
It's not a secret that I have an obsessive personality, so I'm not really sure how much of this I can blame on myself and blame on that. I find myself checking my phone ALL the time. It's not just when I have a notification, it's when I'm bored or even for no reason at all. 

One day I decided I was only going to check Instagram once that day. Then around 11 am I sat down to take a break from whatever I was doing and my finger just habitually clicked on Instagram! I was so annoyed that I couldn't go 3 hours. 

I would really like to be able to go all day without browsing, and then only check my phone when I hear a notification that I need to respond to. I'd like to say that I wouldn't even need to check it then, but I know myself and if I don't respond to a text right away I will forget to. 

I want to stop going to bed with makeup on my face.
I used to be awful about this! So I am happy to say I've made improvements. Half the battle was finding a skin care routine that I liked, and I'm loving my DIY system. I do that faithfully every morning. But some nights I fall asleep on the couch and then into bed when Blake wakes me up a little while later. 

Now that I'm in my late twenties, I know that skin care is crucial! This falls in line so well with my goal for the year of doing things I will thank myself for later. I know I will thank myself in the future for taking good care of my skin now!

I think what will help me, is developing an after dinner routine. It may be lame to get get into pjs at 6 o'clock but if I do my skin care routine then, I can relax and not worry about trying to do it at 10 when all I want to do is sleep. (Because face it I'm usually asleep by 9.) 

In summary:
It's important to be proud of the good habits you've got down pat! I try to think of the things I'm doing well often. Because, let's face it, it's a slippery slope and all too easy to only dwell on the things you don't like or want to change. 

But, if you want to reach your goals you do have to do an audit once in awhile! Striving to be a better person is what I would call my ultimate life goal. I think working on these three things will help me do that. The first two will help me be more engaged and more in the moment! The last thing won't necessarily make me a good person, but spending time caring for yourself is important. You can't pour from an empty cup, after all. 

So, leave a comment below with how you are doing with your yearly goals! Are your goals more oriented to what you want to start doing or what you want to stop doing? Tell me a habit you are proud of, and one you'd like to work on!

3 Things I Want To Stop Doing

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Spring always seems to be my busy season! I work in Real Estate-so that's incredibly busy during the spring. On top of the influx in work, I'm also training someone new, which is quite the task! And, it's a big social event season too! My brother just got engaged, my sister had a baby...Blake and I are also doing some volunteer construction work that has us working about 30 hours a month right now as well. So, I just feel like it's been a whirlwind lately! It's all good things tough, so I'm grateful for that. 

I thought I'd just pop in and share a few things that I haven't been able to blog about yet.

one// I got my hair cut!
I know I'm not the only one who does this, but I find myself growing out my hair as long as I can stand it and then cut it really short...grow it out again...and repeat! I haven't had a consistent hair style in a long time! After getting SO annoyed with how tangled my hair was getting all the time, I decided to cut it again! I'm so in love with it that I really do intend on keeping it this way for awhile. 

It's easy to manage and quicker to style! All bonuses during this busy season!


two// The flower fields are back!
One of my very favorite things about spring are these gorgeous wildflower fields that pop up in our area. They are blindingly beautiful! We haven't gotten as much rain this year, so they aren't as great as last year. We always have to stop and pick a few! This day we also got to see our friend's baby goats! Baby anything is so cute. This goat had triplets named Huey, Dewey and Louie. (Their other goat had three more babies just a few days later.) Blake and I aren't very 'country' but we sure love having friends who have land and animals. 





three// Erin Condren notebook obsession
As an office supply aficionado, you can take seriously my high recommendation of these notebooks! They are just the best. The paper is so thick and there are a couple of different layouts to choose from. Plus a custom cover is so fun! I'm now on my third. Each one has a different purpose - of course!

Can you tell what my favorite color is?? #obsessed. If you sign up for and Erin Condren account with my link you get a $10 gift certificate in your email. Which means these notebooks are only $10!


four// Race bib display
Decluttering our house might just be one of my all time favorite activities! Even though I've gotten rid of anything and everything I could manage to part with, I still have a few collections here and there. One thing I've saved is all of my race bibs and race medals- but I kept them under the bed. I was really feeling like if you feel the need to keep something for sentimental reasons, you need to have it in a place where you can see it and appreciate it. 

So, I had Blake help me whip up this little display for my race stuff! It's so cute and was a breeze to make. Really you just need to cut a board to size. Sand (or buy one ready to stain), and stain or paint it. Add a few hooks and metal clips and there you go. 

I originally had planned for this to go in our office, but when I held up the gray stained board to the gray wall it looked weird. So we found this little under appreciated spot and it fit perfectly! 

Can you spot Delly?
five// Nephew photo shoot
I got a little photography practice in last week when my sister asked me to take 1 month old pictures of Lennox. I can't believe he is a month old already! He is such a chunk. It worked out perfectly, because we went out to eat for lunch and by the time we got back home he was awake from his nap, well fed and ready for his close up. 

It's very difficult to get pictures of such a squirmy little guy! Carter also made sure he got in the way as much as possible. My buddy is having a hard time sharing his auntie! 

When I got home to upload the photos I was really mad at myself because so many pictures turned out strange. Turns out Carter had turned the knob on my camera when he 'practiced' taking a picture. So my settings were slightly off. Oh, well we still got a few that were frameable! 








Leave a comment below if you totally understand a busy spring! Tell me what you've been up to lately and if you like this style of post! I want to know if you are like me with the hair cut cycle or the office supply obsession!

Just 5 Things!

Monday, May 14, 2018


Hello!

Hi friends! I'm Kristen, and this is the Life and Style of an early 30's Floridian living the Best Life Ever, with her husband and three pugs. Runner | Avid Reader | Small Shop Owner

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