13 Virtues

So, I am reading this book and it's talking about Benjamin Franklin and a list he made to take control of his life and set a higher standard for himself. He made a list of 13 Virtues that he wanted to follow daily, for the rest of his life. Sort of like a daily self improvement check list. He would write down all twelve states in his journal and made a grid for each day of the month, "Every time I violate any one of these virtues," "I will put a small black dot next to that value for that day. My goal is to have no black dots on my chart. Then I will know I am truly living these virtues." 

I really liked this idea and decided that I wanted to do this myself. 

So here's my list, for myself:

1. Cheerful
2. Passionate
3. Balanced
4. Courageous
5. Active
6. Happy
7. Loving
8. Faithful
9. Dedicated
10. Ambitious
11. Strong
12. Thankful
13. Open-Minded

That list took me a while to come up with hah! I even thought about this while I worked out too. Some of these are going to be harder for me than others. But I know that by doing this, and seeing these through it will help me be able to grow. I think it's very easy to get caught up in life, never stopping to see the good in it; or even really think to focus on self improvement. I think that when we take the time to work on ourself, we help better those around us as well. 

And this is totally un-related to this post but super cute, Grayson's FIRST hot chocolate!! Don't worry it wasn't to hot, it was more like luke-warm-hot-chocolate. But he was so happy, and cute. I love seeing him experience things. 

Xoxo,

Brittany Marie Powell

What is something you would put on your List?
What's your favorite Holiday/Seasonal Treat?

Beehive Bazaar

Today was a fun day because I actually had something fun to do, and not boring (like laundry) hah! I decided to go check out the Beehive Bazaar down in Riverwoods. 
I met up with a friend and we had fun looking at all of the different booths vendors had set up. Everything was set up beautifully, and it was all so crafty and adorable. 
Some things were so simple yet I would never have thought to make it! 
I got a lot of cute decorating/crafting ideas and 
I purchased a couple of cute items that I want to share with y'all.

{i am going to do my best to mention everyone who 
crafted these items, to give credit where credit is due my friends!}

Item #1 is this cute little wooden iron-man, which I believe all the Avenger ones were strategically placed at toddler eye level for a reason ;-) hah but he really wanted it,  I usually don't give in to all the toys he wants, because he always wants toys whenever we are out and about, but this time I did. It was too cute to pass up. I would have liked to get all of the Avengers!

made by littlethingshappy instagram

IRONMAN aka "man man" as Grayson likes to say.

made by unknown, if you the crafter of this beautiful-ness
happens to read this blogpost, let me know! :)

Item #2 is this darling deer antler decoration (by which I can hang jewlery on... and anything else that needs hanging. Maybe my race medals! I am wanting it to be hung with all of my other girly items like my makeup and shoes and nail polish. :) aka #myhappyplace I have actually been wanting to craft something similar to this for a while now, one of my good Youtuber friends did a whole tutorial on something similar she had made, and it was so cute! So when I saw this I had to have it, because I know I probably wouldn't be making it any time soon, since I've been saying I'd make one ever since she put the video out. Which was a while ago....

Going to this shin dig made me realize all of the things I want to craft up, so I making a personal list of crafty projects I want to finish/DO.... feel free to ignore this haha
*paint thrifted bookcase, you bought it in JUNE....
*make a pretty bunting banner with fabric for my Youtube Videos.
*make a cute wooden sign.
*make a christmas tree like this whimisical one by noelledesigns instagram:

the green one with the pink pedestal is my fav <3

#tiredmommyselfie

I am including this lazy selfie of me, because I really liked my outfit today. I'm wearing a Lilly Pulitzer mermaid top and a mermaid necklace to match! Both of which were purchased on ebay and I got a really great deal on both items. #ilovelilly and #iloveebay

I feel very sleep deprived right now, even though last night was the first night in a while that I was able to sleep. Perhaps that's why. Do any of you function better on less sleep than you do with more? Or am I just extremely strange? I still need to work out too... I ran a mile this morning... and then I talked to MY SISTER, which may not seem like a big deal to most but she has been serving a mission for our Church in the Phillipines, and today was the first time i got to talk to her for 18 months. I am so happy she is home and I am so proud of her for serving for our Church. She's a good egg! <3 hah

Xoxo,
Brittany Marie Powell