Glamour

Definition: The attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem appealing or special.

Synonyms: Charm, enchantment, romance, and mystique.

Living a glamorous life means you are being true to your authentic self. Embracing your uniqueness. Being the best you, that you can be. Because we are all individually awesome, a glamorous life can look different for each of us. You don’t need to look like an old Hollywood star to be glamorous. I’ve written 10 tips as a basic guide to help you embrace a more glamorous life.

1. Luxuries
Indulge in little luxuries. You don’t need to spend a lot of money (or any) to do this. A few ideas are: take an evening stroll, watch the sunrise/sunset, read a good book, take a bubble bath, buy yourself flowers, go on a picnic, enjoy a dessert etc.

2. Fine Foods
Focus on eating good, nutritious foods. Your body and your life will be immensely better if you eat proper meals rather than microwave dinners or fast food. Use your fancy dinnerware on a daily basis instead of just for the special occasions that rarely come. You CAN eat ridiculously well for very little money. My husband and I spend between $75 and $150 on groceries per month… for both of us!

3. Quality
Quality over quantity. Opt for the best quality you can. Choose good products, fabrics, entertainment, relationships etc. Obviously don’t be stupid with your money. Live within your means and live the highest quality of life you can. You will feel marvelous. 

4. Gratitude
Being thankful is truly glamorous. Alex Ikonn once said something like, “Gratitude is a winning attitude”. Practicing gratitude every single day is one of the best things you can do for yourself, your family, and your life.
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” -Oprah Winfrey

5. Simplify
Declutter your house. Simplify your life. Get rid of time and energy suckers. Is facebook really enhancing your life?
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris

6. Appearance
Put extra effort into your appearance. Dress for the life you want. Take good care of your body. Exercise. The way you choose to present yourself, says a lot about how you feel about yourself and the world. Step it up a notch (or a few). Work on improving yourself. Try wearing lipstick instead of lip balm. Wear a nice pajama set instead of sweats. You get the idea.

7. Be Positive
You are what you think. Be kind to yourself. Remember to think before you speak. Be mindful of the tone you use. Someone speaking eloquently, using positive words and a positive tone is far more alluring than a negative Nelly with poor grammar.

8. Celebrate
Live joyously. Celebrate good times, come on!
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” -Oprah Winfrey

9. Whoa Girl, Slow Down!
Breathe, relax, don’t rush, meditate. Take your time and thoroughly enjoy the process that is life. Stop and smell those glorious roses!

10. Be Genuine
Don’t be fake, be authentically yourself. Stop comparing your life, your body, your weaknesses etc to others. You are on your own unique journey in life, embrace it.

“Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be.”
-Elrond LOTR

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost

I’m not sure what to write. My mind has been a bit scattered today. For you to understand my blog and myself a bit better, I want to share some personal things. I also want to share some information that hopefully someone can find helpful.

I am passionately interested in many different things. These interests can change often. Which sometimes most of the time causes a lot of inner turmoil. I get bored with things easily and have often been called a quitter. Several of my interests are conflicting. I’m half adventure obsessed nature girl, half historical glamour princess. I never feel like I fit in with any groups or cliques. I fear that people will think I’m a fraud. I worry that I am destined to always be a loner. Don’t get me wrong, my husband, siblings, and dogs are my best friends, so I’m not a complete loner…but I struggle with making non-family friends. I think that’s a big reason of why I have been blogging, I am hoping to find people I can relate to and hopefully become friends with.

All of these conflicting interests lead to confusion about what direction I should be going in life. I struggle with being consistent. Without consistency it makes it incredibly difficult to complete things. I do things in extremes. There are so many different things I want to do in life, that I feel like I’m not getting anywhere with anything. One of my million projects I’m semi-working on is a sort of life planner/worksheet to help me live a more balanced life. I still need to buckle down and finish it though.  *insert eye roll at myself* When it is finished I will be sharing it on here to download and possibly as a physical book.

I’m not a conventional person. I never have been. My mom tried to be as supportive as she could. I dance to a different beat. I wanted to be a vegetarian before I even knew that it was a thing. Seriously haha, I was born hating meat. A lot of other people through my childhood and life have tried to make me feel like something was wrong with being different. I’ve been called all sorts of different things, fickle, quitter, commitment issues, etc. Ain’t nobody got time for that. We need to love ourselves and each other just the way we are. 

There is a TEDx talk that completely speaks to me. I literally sobbed the first time I saw it. It’s about being a Multipotentialite, or Renaissance person. It’s one of those talks that I watch and re-watch over and over again. It’s by Emilie Wapnick, and it’s called Why Some of us Don’t Have One True Calling. Her website puttylike.com is an invaluable resource. If you are anything like me, I highly recommend checking it out.

I’m mostly writing this for me, but maybe it can help you too:
Accept yourself. Stop comparing your life to others. Quirks make you unique. Embrace your individualism. Don’t think of your struggles as a problem, but instead as a strength. Pity those who aren’t dreamers. Innovation, creativity, and inspiration don’t happen by following the pack. Be true to yourself. Dare to be different and take the road less traveled.

Peace & Love,
Kayla Oliver

This is my absolute favorite, and I’ve tried many different recipes and store bought toothpastes/powders. It’s awesome to make your own products because you have the freedom to customize it however you like. This tooth powder leaves my teeth whiter and super clean, but isn’t too abrasive or nasty tasting.

5 Reasons to Make Your Own:

1. Cheaper.
2. Less waste.
3. Better oral health.
4. No artificial ingredients and toxic chemicals.
5. Customize the flavor. 

In this recipe the baking soda cleans and deodorizes, sea salt promotes healing and decreases bacteria, bentonite clay detoxifies, and essential oils add flavor and many other benefits.

Recipe:

• 4 tablespoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons bentonite clay
• 30 +/- drops of essential oil  (peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, clove, and/or myrrh)

(Edit: I no longer include the bentonite clay. It can clog your pipes. I thought using such a small amount would be fine… but after a few months of using this recipe, our drain starting having some issues. So just use extra baking soda instead.)

Mix dry ingredients first with a non-metal spoon, then stir in the essential oil(s). I store the tooth powder in an old glass spice jar.

To brush your teeth, simply sprinkle some powder onto your hand, scoop it up with your bamboo toothbrush, then brush as normal. If you try this out, I hope that you’ll enjoy it.  🙂

Thank you for visiting The Bohemian Life. Peace & Love.

Small and affordable homes rock! We bought our older home in 2011. We got an amazing deal on it and we love the area it’s located. When we bought it everyone and their dog would tell us it was a good “starter home”. Please. I think the whole idea of progressively buying bigger houses with even bigger mortgages is absolutely ridiculous. What’s wrong with a smaller home, that’s full of character, and will be paid off sooner than most people’s houses? Nothing! Dare to be frugal. Stick it to the man. Here are 15 benefits of small & inexpensive homes.

1. Not as expensive to purchase.
Seems obvious but a $150,000 house is $100,000 cheaper than a $250,000 house! That’s a lot of money. Not to mention all the money you’ll save on interest, especially if you pay it off sooner.

2. Lower property taxes.
You can seriously save thousands of dollars per year.

3. Less to furnish and decorate.
It doesn’t make sense to have multiple living or family rooms. That’s a lot that needs to be furnished. One room that can be multi-functional works perfectly. Besides, so many people in larger homes don’t even use most of their space.

4. Not as much to repair.
In a smaller house there won’t be as much that can go wrong. The maintenance is so much easier and cheaper.

5. Cheaper utilities.
A smaller house doesn’t require near as much to heat and cool. It also won’t need as much lighting etc.

6. Less to clean.
I’d much rather clean 1 bathroom instead of 3. Ahh, who am I kidding? My husband cleans the bathroom. #win

7. Closer family relationships.
Less space means more hanging out together in the same room. Living closer together means you’ll be more in tune with each other’s lives, thoughts, and feelings. Family time is the best time.

8. More environmentally friendly.
It’s true. Lower carbon footprints are prodigious.

9. Not as spooky.
People usually feel more comfortable in smaller homes. It’s cozier.

10. More intentional and conscious about your belongings and purchases.
Limited space means you have to confront your relationship with stuff. Compulsive consumerism and over consumption isn’t cool.

11. Cultivates creativity.
You can totally customize your house to reflect your quirky or quaint personality. Smaller spaces encourage you to find creative solutions, just take a look at the awesome tiny house movement.

12. Easier to sell.
If you do ever decide to sell your house, there’s a lot more buyers looking in that price and size range.

13. Good future rental property.
If you end of moving somewhere else, there’s more renters looking for affordable housing rather than McMansions.

14. Limited “Joneses Neighbors”.
Chances are you won’t be living next to any Jones families. Most of them are in cookie cutter suburbs. I love my older neighborhood that’s full of elderly folks, young families, and individuals that are all unique and down to earth. 

15. Freedom.
In general you’ll potentially have more financial freedom, freedom of time, and less stress. You can have a mega garden in your front yard, and you can’t do that in an HOA neighborhood.