Polish my Crown » Words for Wednesday

be your wild, courageous, brilliant self every single day.

Andi — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:00:47 +0000

I just love Curly Girl Design artwork and these new typography cards that the artist Leigh released are no exception. I have Curly Girl Design splattered all over my life: in my living room, in my bedroom, on my desk. In this case, I’m inspired by the beautiful, inspiring quotes and thoughts written in “chalkboard style.” Today’s Words for Wednesday shares just a few of my favorites – I think it’s about time I make a few more purchases on the shop online;) Which is your favorite?

Someday is made up of a thousand tiny nows.

Have only one rule: be your wild, courageous, brilliant self every single day no matter what.

Life is long. It is living that we risk being short on.

I am fairly certain that given cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world.

I do not think we know our own strength until we have seen how strong love makes us.

Enjoy your day! xo

the future is exciting!

Andi — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:00:46 +0000

Happy Wednesday! I’m back in the country and feeling really thankful for a few days to settle back into normal life. I can’t wait to share my photos from Barcelona and Marrakech with you — stay tuned!

Today’s Words for Wednesday is all about the future. When I think of the future I think of a few words: exciting, adventurous, terrifying, unknown, open. While thinking about times ahead can be really overwhelming and scary, I want to shift my focus to be completely excited and in amazement of what’s to come. I like to think that my life manifesto can be found in Proverbs 31:25: “She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs with no fear of the future.” When was the last time you thought about the future with absolutely no fear and instead, pure laughter and cheerfulness? When was the last time you started proactively helping, supporting, loving your future you by helping, supporting and loving yourself right now? That’s what I’m working on.

More future-focused blog posts here and here.

Have a lovely day! xx

everything is amazing!

Andi — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:00:42 +0000

I really enjoy the word amazing. I always viewed the word as an extra special version of “great!” but it’s actually defined as: causing great surprise or wonder, astonishment, startlingly impressive. I’m pretty obsessed with that definition. When was the last time you had a startlingly impressive day? When was the last time you were surprised or in sheer wonder of a conversation you had? When was the last time you were astonished at just how wonderful life is?

Today I encourage you to make amazing decisions, have amazing conversations, enjoy amazing company and pursue amazing opportunities. I am going to try to do the same!

Lots of love,
Andi

greater things are yet to come.

Andi — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:00:56 +0000

A quick trip down memory lane showed me that I haven’t shared a Words for Wednesday post since December – crazy! While lately I seem to be compiling my favorite images of advice and inspiration on Instagram or Pinterest, I definitely don’t want to stop sharing on Polish My Crown today. I recently found a site called staypositive.me – I could literally spend hours on the site reading the different inspirational and empowering words. Here’s just a few of my favorites!

I think my favorite is the top quote: greater things are yet to come. There are much bigger and better plans in place for our lives than we can even imagine. That’s always a wonderful reminder to me when I feel like I’m stuck in a current situation or unsure about the future. It’s definitely a hopeful reminder! xx

merry and bright

Andi — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:00:55 +0000

I can’t believe it’s less than one week until Christmas! I flew back home on Sunday night and I’m very thankful for the extra time I can spend with my family before the holidays. Since Christmas is obviously on my mind, I thought I’d share a fun holiday-themed Words for Wednesday post today.

Do you have any favorite holiday traditions? I also enjoy our girls cookie day {Saturday this year!} where we bake cookies all day with my cousin Erin, aunts and grandma. I also love Christmas Eve with my family – church, fondue, family game night and a big sister sleepover. Hope your day {and entire holiday season} is merry and bright! xx

Let everything happen to you.

Andi — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:00:26 +0000

Happy Wednesday!
After noticing my Words of Wisdom board on Pinterest reached over 650 pins, I decided it was time to oh, I don’t know, create a separate board focused on quotes. Enter in my Words of Wisdom, Part 2 board where all of the images in this blog post are also currently located. These are a few quotes that have inspired me lately, especially the top one. “Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” This is a great reminder whenever you’re in a funky mood or at a point in your day/week/month where you’re at the breaking point. The icky feeling you might be experiencing now will not last forever and it always helps me to sit back from the situation, take a long and deep breath and just hit the refresh button on life. What IS important is to recognize each and every feeling you experience rather than ignore them or bottle them up. Just keep going.

P.S. Sorry my posts have been so short and sweet lately – I’ve been crazy busy. I promise I will be back to normal soon-ish annnnnd….excited to let you know I’m announcing a big, fun holiday giveaway next week! xo!

Life grows lovely where you are

Andi — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:00:10 +0000

I’ve shared a Words for Wednesday blog sharing images from the Type Written Word blog before {here} and thought I would share a few more of my favorite quotes from the site.

While I realllllllly like all of these quotes, but one stuck out to me as especially inspiring. “One day you will learn how to give and receive love like an open window and it will feel like summer every day.” What a wonderful thing to learn! I wrote about how to love previously and wrote what love looks like to me – love is appreciating others. Love is accepting others. Love is wanting other people to feel good and happy.

Loving other people is important, but don’t miss out the other part – “receive.” Not just passively receive, but receive love like an open window. This reminds me of taking a road trip with all the windows down, blaring my favorite song. The window blowing in and the sun beaming in from every direction. What does receiving love actively – like an open window – look like exactly? This Tiny Buddha blog post sums is up nicely:

When someone looks out for you, empathizes with you, stands up for you, listens to you, relates to you, appreciates you, respects you, accepts you, or acknowledges you, they are giving you love. When someone thanks you, encourages you, believes in you, supports you, forgives you, soothes you, uplifts you, or trusts you, they are giving you love. When someone opens up to you, tries to know you, stays strong for you, assumes the best in you, compliments you, mentors you, makes time for you, or makes an effort for you, they are giving you love.

I hope you decide to actively give love – and at the same time, actively receive love from people around you. Have a wonderful Wednesday! xx

stop worrying

Andi — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:00:09 +0000

Confession: I worry way more than I should and way more than I want to. There, I said it. Okay, so now that it’s out there, let’s talk about worry. Do you ever get caught in the slippery slope of worry? I think about one thing, then another, then another and then all of a sudden I am consumed with fear and worry about something. While I don’t typically get stressed out by what’s going on in a situation, but instead get worried that it might get worse. That the worst thing ever could maybe potentially happen. Please tell me I’m not the only one!

We live in an anxiety culture. We are prone to worry – to be assuming the worst – to be overwhelmed by the unknown. I worry about the past, which is impossible to change, and I worry about the future. More than both of those, I spend time worrying about the here and now. Just this week I caught myself worrying about one thing and within five minutes, I was worried about 340934 other things for no real reason. Did any of the things I thought might happen take place? Nope. Do they sometimes? Of course. The point is that I got myself worked up for no real reason – out of worry.

How do we overcome worry? One thing I do when I catch myself in worry mode is to write down everything I am worried or anxious about at that moment. Kind of the opposite of a thankful list, if you will. I write it down and let it go. This allows me to take everything I’m tossing around in my head and put it in a tangible place. It allows me to mentally and emotionally put myself and the concerns I’m worried about in check.

I’ve also learned to ask for help when I feel consumed by worry. I’ll ask my parents, sisters and closest friends to talk through what I’m worried about and ask them for advice and prayer. Another way to combat worry is to remember how toxic it is for you – it wastes time and energy, makes us unpleasant to be around and keeps us on the edge and ready to explode in a moment’s notice. If you sometimes can be a worrier, I feel your pain sister. Let’s work to stop worrying – to stop spending our lives dwelling on the things that trouble us. xx

p.s. i’m on day #4 of my juice detox. If this is something you might be interested in trying, visit Thrive Cleanse for a 10% off discount using the code POLISHED.

let certain things go

Andi — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:00:59 +0000

Do you ever hold on to things, situations, people for too long? Trust me, I do. I have things in my closet that I absolutely can’t give up, but really need to go. I have situations that I replay over and over in my head that need to stop being rehashed. I have people who should be cut off from my life because they are a negative force – rather than a positive one. Letting go has been something something on my mind and I want to make a conscious effort to actually do just that. Sometimes I just need to breathe and let go of less important things {like weird jeans or boots from two years ago} but more importantly, big things like negativity, undeserved hurts and people that don’t treat me well. Here’s a few words on letting go for today’s Words for Wednesday post. xx

That is why it is so important to let certain things go. To release them. To cut loose. People need to understand that no one is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don’t expect to get anything back, don’t expect recognition for your efforts, don’t expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Complete the circle. Not out of pride, inability or arrogance, but simply because whatever it is no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are.

- Paulo Coehlo

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway with Red Spatula for a chance to win {amazing} rice cereal treats!

never stop creating

Andi — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:00:56 +0000

Do you ever feel uninspired and uncreative? I hate that feeling! Earlier this week I read an article about overcoming creative blocks and thought that would be an appropriate Words for Wednesday topic. One of my absolute favorite things is being surrounded by people who are full of big and crazy ideas – whether for work projects, personal tasks or life goals. A few ways I stay inspired and creative are by: singing really loud, listening to music, studying and appreciating art, listening to people who are wiser than I am, doodling, taking afternoon walks around the block, reading one chapter of a book daily, saying yes more frequently and celebrating mini achievements. The most important part is to not give into fear – to jump on scary and risky opportunities, whether big or small.