Why I Needed A Break From Social Media

I’m not gonna lie, I almost couldn’t log back onto my WordPress account – it really has been THAT long. I had to try three times to get the right password and voila, here I am.

I have had this blog and my connected Instagram account for almost four years and for the past two years, I have treated both accounts like my baby. I loved to write, I loved taking photos and editing them. I loved playing around with my photos so I could curate the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed. In those two years, I spent most of my day thinking of ways I could improve my blog or my feed. When Instagram algorithms changed, it became harder and harder to get my posts noticed and because of that, my blog posts weren’t getting noticed either. I had fallen into the traps of the internet and I wanted to do everything in my power to get out- even if it meant setting aside other things in my life.

It’s a numbers game.

I wanted more followers, I wanted more likes and it was starting to canvas over the original reason why I started my Instagram account in the first place. The reason I ever started my account was so I could get more people to read my blog posts and I don’t know when my focus shifted away from my original goal. I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again. I love to write – whether I’m good at it or not is a whole other story but it’s something that I enjoy. Even my blog posts started to feel disingenuous. Honestly, I didn’t want to write about what dresses or outfits I was wearing each week. Yes, it was great to do once in a while but when that was almost all I was writing about, I felt creatively drained. But, I did it because that’s what everyone else was doing. Moral of the story, I needed a break.

My year-long break away from the internet didn’t happen abruptly. I had originally planned to take a month long break from posting to focus on school. That month turned into three months and that turned into almost a year. The idea of going back onto my account and back into the routine gave me overwhelming anxiety. The pressure of keeping up with everyone on social media felt like a burden. I couldn’t stand to watch an account that I had built from the ground up fall and eventually I logged out of my Instagram account because I didn’t want to be reminded of my failure.

My almost one year break was amazing. I had more time to do other things! Most people don’t know how much time it takes to run an Instagram account or a blog, it is like a full-time job and the hours bleed into every minute of the day.

I came back because I don’t abandon my projects.

I want to take my writing to a new level, write about more serious topics but still keep some of the original. I don’t want to give up on something I worked so hard for and I’m excited for the next chapter.

Have you ever taken a break before? Let me know 🙂

Until next time,
Sindy Spencer

 

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Beauty Secrets From My Mom

Happy Mothers Day!! Growing up, my mom was always the person I went to with skincare concerns because the woman has amazing skin. She didn’t wear foundation for years because her skin was just too good to cover up. I lined up a few beauty secrets she has shared with me over the years that are tried and true. Let me know if you try any of these or have tried them in the past!

  1. Eggs whites

Whenever a recipe called for just the egg yolk, my mom would save the egg white and use it as a mask all over the face. Even on days where no cooking was involved, sometimes I’d find her sitting on the couch with a thin layer of egg white on her face. After trying it, I can tell you that it’s a great mask that’s super easy to make (only one ingredient folks!) and INCREDIBLY CHEAP. I apply just a thin layer and wait for it to dry and then wash it off with some warm later and it’s great for skin tightening and a more refreshed face.

  1. Royal Jelly

If you asked me before today what exactly royal jelly was before today, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you. My limited knowledge about the stuff was limited to the fact that it tastes kind of like honey but the texture and colour are different. After a little “research” (aka Wikipedia) I found out that it’s a bee secretion that is used to feed larvae. It really doesn’t sound very appealing but I swear this stuff is amazing. You can use it as a very mild exfoliator or use it as a mask. It does wonders for my dry skin during the winter because of it’s amazing moisturizing properties. According to my mom, because of all the vitamins in royal jelly, it’s also amazing for anti-aging.

  1. Black Sesame Seeds

Black sesame seeds are great for reducing the number of grey hairs but on top of that, it’s also great for nourishing your hair to give it a healthy glow. I obviously can’t attest to how effective it is grey hairs but I can say my mom has amazing hair. This one has less instantaneous results but great for the long term- just remember to keep it consistent. Black sesame seeds have other great health benefits so you can’t go wrong adding it to your diet.

  1. Honey

Honey is great for a face mask and has similar skin benefits as the royal jelly BUT it is amazing for hair. My mom likes to use raw honey because its consistency isn’t as runny and easier to use for hair masks. For saving dry hair or for lightening, mix about 2/3 raw honey with 1/3 conditioner in a bowl, and simply put it in your hair and wrap your hair in a plastic bag or even saran wrap. For more immediate lightening results, sleeping in your hair mask over night is the best way. However, if you opt to sleep in your mask, make sure to wrap your hair very well so you don’t wake up in a …sticky mess.

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My Irrational Fears

A while back, I brought up one of my random irrational fears to someone because it was something that had been sitting in the back of my mind for so long. Frankly, I wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way. The conversation went a little something like this.

Me: This is weird but whenever I exit a store, I always have a fear that the security alarm is going to go off and I’m going to get arrested for a theft that I didn’t commit.

Him: OH MY GOD I FEEL THE SAME WAY.

So, now that I know I’m not alone in my irrational fears, I thought I would share some with all of you and maybe we can all bond over how weird we are.

 

Store Security Alarm

I don’t even know where this one started but in recent years, every single time I leave a store, I have to mentally prepare myself for the security alarm to go off. The worst part is, one time the alarm actually did go off and it FREAKED me out. I froze and didn’t know what to do with myself as I frantically looked around at the store clerk with a look of confusion. Turns out, it was a faulty alarm but it only just made me more paranoid. Love that.

Sidewalk Grates

This is one fear that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I used to refuse to walk on sidewalk grates because I thought that I would fall through them. Frankly, I think they look hella dangerous. I mean, there are holes everywhere it just doesn’t look architecturally stable.

Public Bathroom Flushing

Every time I come out of a public bathroom stall and I see someone else waiting in line to go into the same stall I just used, I get this weird fear that perhaps I didn’t fully flush properly. You know, sometimes your mind wanders and you forget to check whether everything went down properly and it’s just embarrassing and gross for someone else to walk into that.

Airplane Flushing

Speaking of flushing, this one is a weird one. The flushing sound of airplane toilets scare me so much. It’s this massive flush that sounds like the soul is being sucked out of the toilet. So, whenever I have to use the bathroom on the plane, I mentally prepare myself for the sound but even then, I get a little jolt everytime.

Potential Danger – How to Escape

Whenever I’m in a room for a long period of time and I get bored, my mind starts to wander. Sure, I think about a lot of other things, like what I’m going to snack on later or how the boy sitting in front of me has really nice hair.  However, eventually, my mind always lands on one place. I always plan out my escape route if an attacker were to enter. I image someone coming through the door and think about where I would hide. Normally, I check out the window to see if jumping out of it would be a valid option- sure I might get a few broken bones but it might be worth it. Please tell me someone else does this.

Music In A Quiet Room

Sometimes when I’m in the library or anywhere quiet, I can hear the music blasting through someone else’s headphones. I have to say, most of the time it comes from the Apple headphones because I have experienced first hand the extent of sound leaking that comes from those things. Every time I’m in the library studying and I turn up the volume of my music, I cautiously have to take my earbuds or headphones off to see if anyone else can hear my music. Whenever someone else stares or looks at me in the library, I always think it’s because they can hear my music. What can I say, I just get paranoid and worried about the most random things. It happens every single time.

 

That’s all for today, what are some of your irrational fears?

 

XOXO,
Sindy Spencer

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NYFW Day 1 Recap: Vaishali S

Long time no blog!!! Before school started I was so optimistic about being able to balance my school life, social life and blogging…but alas that was just wishful thinking and blogging just sadly went to the back burner.

I know NYFW was a few weeks ago but I never got to do my roundup and share my experience with you guys!! Even though I only got to see one show, I still want to show you guys because it was AMAZING!

Day 1: 

I have a funny story about my Day 1 outfit. I was supposed to see the Vaishali S show at 3pm that day and prior to the show, I had plans to do some sightseeing with my dad (who was in New York on a business trip). Obviously, sightseeing included a lot of walking and potentially a lot of crowds so I had put on a rather simple outfit with very comfortable shoes to walk around that morning. I packed my other outfit and shoes in my bag so that I could head straight to the venue and change into my planned outfit (OR SO I THOUGHT). When I went to change, I realized in a slight panic that I had only brought my shoes with me and I had left my outfit at the hotel. I had to make the outfit work on the spot because it was 15 minutes until the show and I didn’t have time go to back to the hotel. So, that is why I ended up with this outfit…which now looking back at it, I really love. It’s not super extravagant but it still looks chic.

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The best part about this outfit is that it is super budget friendly! These pants are from Zara and they’re my new favourite bottoms because they’re soooo comfortable and you can really dress them either up or down. They come is a few different colours and honestly, I wanted to buy them all but I decided to go for black because it’s just so versatile.  I love that they’re high waisted because I think high waisted pants look super flattering with my body shape. I paired it with a Forever21 cropped cami that was literally $9 dollars but it was such a pop of colour and really contrasted with the edge that the black bottoms brought. Also, I forgot to mention that the sunglasses I’m wearing were $5 from a street vendor in SOHO! SUCH A STEAL!

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Long story short, even though the outfit wasn’t my first choice, I still made it work and this entire look was under $100 which is such a steal!

Okay, enough blabbing about my outfit…lets talk about the show!

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So…I’ve never been to a fashion show before and I felt like a girl in a candy store because the whole environment was just so amazingly overwhelming. Everyone there was dressed up, there were what seemed like millions of cameras at the end of the runway and the moment the lights turned on and the music started, I honestly felt like I was living young Sindy’s dream.

The Vaishali S line was absolutely stunning and I was amazed by the details she put into her pieces. The material she used for her pieces were very flowy and lightweight. All her looks were soft and elegant and every model that walked down the runway seemed to glide down it. I took so many pictures while I was there but shortly after realized that my pictures can’t compete with the professional photographers at the end of the runway so I’ve shared a few of my favourite looks with you guys courtesy of Fashionweekonline.com.

 

Vaishali S SS2018 - Runway - New York Fashion Week: First StageVaishali S SS2018 - Runway - New York Fashion Week: First StageVaishali S SS2018 - Runway - New York Fashion Week: First StageVaishali S SS2018 - Runway - New York Fashion Week: First Stage

Head to the article linked above to see more looks!!! Which dress is your favourite??

I’ll be posting Day 2 tomorrow so stay tuned!

 

xoxo,

Sindy Spencer

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Habits I Got From My Parents

I get home, take off my shoes, go straight into my room and change out of my “outdoor clothes” RIGHT AWAY. I come out with a baggy t-shirt and shorts. I’m not even talking about lounge wear…I’m straight up wearing my PJs.

I used to think that this is what everyone does when they got home but I came to realise that some people stay in their normal clothes for hours after they get home…or even until bedtime!

That’s when I realised that we all have different living habits and daily habits we’ve sub consciously inherited from our parents unknowingly after living with them for such a long period of time. So, I’ve decided to share a few of mine with you guys!

Changing as soon as I get home. My parents have always changed right when they got home, especially my Dad who is a very very clean person and likes to keep work clothes clean and unwrinkled. I have friends who can stay in their jeans until they have to go to sleep but if it were me…I’d be peeling off those pants the minute I walk in the door.

I never put my backpack/bag on the bed. My Mom was always very strict about keeping bags off the bed. I used to come home and sling my backpack onto my bed and get yelled at because she would tell me that I’m putting all the dirt from outside onto my sheets and that I would have to sleep there later. I used to roll my eyes at her dumb rule but now even though I live away from home most of the time, I find myself always keeping bags off the bed. I once accidentally placed my purse on my bed and instantaneously felt grossed out by the fact that I would have to sleep there later…guess habits really grow on you.

No shoes in the house. I never really thought that anyone wore shoes in their homes until I got older and realized that it’s quite common for some households! My good friend Phil who’s originally from New York actually told me that it’s super common among some families to not take their shoes off and it blew my mind. It was like having something that you’ve believed to be a set rule for your whole life suddenly change. I really want to hear all your thought on this habit in particular because I am so curious!! I’m definitely not saying there’s a superior option here but I want to know! Did you guys have a no shoe policy at home? Did you know someone who didn’t?

Coffee. The addiction had to have originated from somewhere right? My family used to sit together and drink coffee together all the time and over time it just became a habit and a routine. When we all woke up, my Mom would brew up a massive pot of black coffee and she’d always claim that she couldn’t function without any coffee. Over time, that became my mantra too! ALTHOUGH GOOD NEWS EVERYONE, if you haven’t read my post on how I quit drinking coffee , be sure to go check it out! Old habits do die hard but it’s not impossible.

I rarely remember to use the dishwasher. Growing up, we didn’t really use the dishwasher a whole lot. It was always just quicker to throw the dishes in the sink and have everything be quickly washed, dried and put away. Now, while I do like to use the dishwasher…because I’m lazy and hate dishes, sometimes I find myself mindlessly handwashing all my dishes!

That’s it for today but please I want to hear your thoughts! Do you have have any habits or weird things you got from your parents that are different? I also really want to hear about the shoes policy so leave your thoughts below!

xoxo,
Sindy Spencer

 

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