5 Ways to Show Yourself Some Love this Valentine’s Day

The other day, I was talking with my friends about Valentine’s Day. Each of us are fellow proud single women who love ourselves for who we are and watch one another grow on a regular basis. To their surprise, I celebrate Valentine’s Day in full swing as a proud single woman and utilize this holiday solely for loving ME! Valentine’s Day has historically been a couple’s-only holiday and a day to exchange candy cards in elementary school with your fellow classmates. It has ALWAYS been a day that is used to love on others around us and most definitely significant others and it should continue to be that way, BUT it should also be a great opportunity to show ourselves some love, too. So, today, I have listed out 5 ways that ALL of us can show ourselves love this Valentine’s Day.

  1. Schedule an appointment to get some pampering done because YOU deserve it! – About a week ago, I scheduled a hair appointment the week of Valentine’s Day to get some much-desired highlights. While I rarely go out and get any type of pampering done, I feel so much better personally when I do. It is definitely an investment, so I don’t do it much, but I think that’s why it is such a treat when I take the time and set aside the money for some pampering for myself and myself only!
  2. Enjoy a nice workout – Whether it be a walk, trip to the gym, or a run, whatever it may be for you, getting some good olde exercise in is always beneficial for the soul. Confessions: I am most definitely ONE that is the worst at scheduling in the time for a workout. That’s why, I have an OrangeTheory membership, as I schedule accordingly and loose a class allotted in my monthly plan if I don’t show up once I do schedule it. Enough of me rambling – haha! Needless to say, I always always always feel amazing when I do make the time for a workout and after I workout.
  3. Invest in an item on your wishlist (money permitting) – Valentine’s Day is an excellent time to invest in an item on your wishlist that has remained on it for some time now. Last week, I *finally* ordered the Lilly Pulitzer Annaleese shift in Boatylicious, after refraining from buying it for months. It was low in stock at Saks Fifth Avenue, and I felt like I had hit the jackpot. Although an investment, I knew that I had been saving up a lot of my money and knew that it was time to treat myself some, too.
  4. Reorganize your living space – Yep, you heard me right! Reorganizing pockets of your living space is such an excellent way to truly show yourself some love. Just like a workout, I ALWAYS feel reignited when I take a few moments here and there to simply reorganize my own space, given the things that I already have at home and on hand. It is free AND actually relaxing and can easily be done for a few minutes each day, too!
  5. Cook/Bake a New Recipe in the Kitchen – If you know me, then you know that I LOVE spending some sweet time in my sweet sweet kitchen. On my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!), I consistently share the recipes that I cook, which have most recently been via HelloFresh – a worthy investment that I got my good friends Hannah and Alanna hooked on, too! I always love to cook something for myself and even have pushed myself to on many occasions when I haven’t felt like it and TRUST me, having a great meal at the end of a cooking rainbow is like hitting the jackpot!

Above all else, remember to love yourself this Valentine’s Day season. Life gets CRAZY and there are many times that we forget to take time for ourselves – we have work, families, friends, and so much more in our hands. It’s ALL valid. Self love is some of the the best love, too!

XOXO – Katie <3

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Relationship Sunday’s: Why I LOVE Being Single!

Calling ALLL my single ladies and gents and peeps, now, put your hands up! *Cues Beyonce* It can be a struggle to be single at times, but there are so many benefits to it that can sometimes overlook the cons. Since COVID-19 began back in March 2020, I truly started to embrace the benefits and enjoy being single. There are MANY reasons to love being single. Here, I am going to list some of the many many many reasons that I have loved being single and why you should, too!

Reasons Why I LOVE Being Single

  1. Freedom – guess what?! You have the freedom to do what YOU want to do with your life at this special time of being single. Whether it be spending a night on your couch watching Netflix with a bowl of popcorn and not worrying about having to share or online shopping til you drop with your own money and treating yourself, your freedom to do what your heart desires is yours, especially before settling down. You are able to plan your personal schedule around whatever you choose and your finances, too. When dating, your personal schedule drastically changes to include your partner and their needs and wants as well. The same idea goes for your finances, especially when it comes to dates for the two of you and gifts for anniversaries and holidays along with some surprises here and there. Want to plan that trip of your dreams to Peru?! Then GO! Want to save up for that handbag you’ve been eyeing for a while?! Then DO IT! Want to watch that show on Hulu all night long that no one else wants to do?! Then WATCH IT and enjoy your favorite snack as you do! Want to join that team?! Then JOIN! Whatever your heart desires, you have the freedom to do it and without worry of what someone else may think or how they will be impacted by it.
  2. A chance to save up – when you’re single, your financial demands are solely on yourself and only you. Although marriage does have its benefits when it comes to taxes and insurance amongst many others financially, it is nice to be able to use your money for your own personal benefit. Before dating anyone, you can have the chance to save up for what YOU want to save up for in your life. Whether that be travel, a house, a luxury handbag, a pet, an emergency fund, or something else. You don’t have to save it for a wedding, kids, or even a house if you do not want to, either. You get to choose what your money goes towards and that is an amazing thing. Moreover, your financial future will thank you when you have some extra cash saved for a rainy day.
  3. Travel – when you’re single, then it’s the time to travel and see the world! I studied abroad in three different countries while in college – something that I do not know if I would be able to do if I had been in a relationship throughout my college years. For the most part, once you choose to settle down, the opportunity to travel tends to get slimmer than it used to be. Now when you’re single is the time to travel, whether it be domestic or international. You also get to use all of your PTO anyway you want to and that can include your own personal travel, rather than travel demands as per your significant other like seeing their family and friends. You get to determine where YOU go on vacation – it can be independent, with friends, or family. Whatever and wherever you choose to travel to, then GO!
  4. Time to focus on personal goals and hobbies – when single, your time is 10000% YOURS! That being said, you can use your own time to focus on your own personal goals or hobbies. If I had been in a relationship in college, I probably would not have started my platform here and be the blogger that I am today. I never would have started getting into cooking and cooking for others if I were in a relationship and had been for many years before. At the same time, I was super involved throughout my college years and am starting to get involved in my recent post-grad years. My involvement has allowed me to meet many others and grow as a person. If it were not for being single, then I would not have been able to get involved to the capacity that I have been able to. My time is mine and it is all for me to use to explore my own interests and get involved in whatever I so choose.
  5. Career first – my time as a single lady can truly be used to get established and advance within my career without demands of a significant other. I can put my work first and truly grow within my career. At the same time, do not strive to be a workaholic, but have a strong work life balance. When not dating, you can focus on your career and allow it to take you wherever it lands you. Have a job offer in a different city?! Then take it – no one is slowing you down! Want to switch careers?! Then make that switch! Want to invest your time and finances in getting a degree or certification?! Then GO for it! As a single person, you have the time to invest in whatever you want to invest in for your own career advancement. Establishing your own career path is something that is important and when you’re single it’s a great thing to be able to do before settling down.
  6. No significant other commitments – let’s be honest here: it can be oh so stressful when it comes to commitments that come with having a significant other. Whether it be financial, time, emotional, or familial, relationships can take a toll on us all in a variety of different ways. When you’re single, it is great that you do not have ANY of these extra commitments to worry about! Your commitments revolve around YOU and your life and not someone else’s.
  7. Prioritize yourself – NOW is the time to prioritize you and only YOU! Career-wise, friendship-wise, family-wise, financially, or personally, you are able to make your own personal priorities without much worry of anyone else or theirs. Your personal demands are yours and only yours. No one else is involved. It is just you and your own priorities. Moreover, this is an important time to focus on your own self love and growth. Work on being the best YOU that YOU can be, especially for when your special someone does come along. Trust me, you’ll be thankful that you did.
  8. No additional commitments at the holidays – I love love love knowing as a single lady that the holidays are mine and mine to choose what I do. Let’s be real here, relationships with the in-law’s can be awkward and sometimes not the best. However, relationships with the in-law’s can be pretty great too. Whatever the case may be for you when the time comes along, it is pretty great not to have the worry about seeing the in-law’s at the holidays! It can also get complicated when you have to factor in seeing you family and your significant other’s at the holidays, too. It’s nice to know that you get to choose where you are at the holidays and who you are with for the time being.
  9. Truly evaluate what you want in a partner – when you’re single, you can know what you truly want in a partner. Personally, I have learned a lot of traits that I like and do not like in my future significant other from hearing my friends’ own experiences both good and bad from their own relationships. I can witness what has worked for them and what doesn’t and learn about what my work for me, based on their relationship experiences. Similarly, I have learned to pick up red flags even faster than before – surprisingly enough. Through it all, when you’re single, you get to learn more and more about yourself and take that time to fall head over heels in love with yourself. When you do just that, coincidentally, you also evaluate what you want in a partner, too. That way, you’ll be ready for the right person when they come along!
  10. Prioritize your friendships and familial relationships – through it all, your friendships and family are important and an integral part of our mental wellbeing. You can truly establish those friendships and familial relationships while single. Whether single or not, it is important to keep them close. However, when you’re single, you’re especially able to prioritize your friends and family. Knowing how to prioritize your friends and family is a skill that can be hard to come by, but an important one. At the same time, you always have your friends and family through the good times and the bad times – single or not. The experiences that you have made through friendships and family are ones that have shaped you. When you are single, you can truly focus on those relationships and maintain them pretty well once you do start dating.

Fellow single folks, there are several things to be grateful for about your single life. It can be tough at times to be single, but there are many extraordinary things about it. Remember to care for yourself and love yourself through thick and thin and one day someone will love you for who you are too. But, in the meantime, enjoy your single life for what it is and make the best of it.

Above all else, remember that you are single and FABULOUS!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

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Let’s Talk About GOALS!

Have you ever thought, “oh wouldn’t it be cool to do …”?I know I have! For most of my life, I have consistently thought well, I’d love to do this, this, and this, yet I NEVER got down and in the dirt to actually make it happen until recently. The Covid-19 pandemic has left me with the opportunity to actually turn some of my dreams into a reality. One of the ways that I want to be able to achieve those dreams and live my best life while doing so is by creating my own goals!

My Goals!

Currently, I have quite a bit of things that I would like to achieve and make a reality for myself. I have started some of these goals listed this past year, while others I am just now striving to begin. Personally, it helps me to break down my goals into time frames for things I would like to accomplish within the next few weeks, months, the end of 2020, and into the next year. Below I have listed some of these goals for you to see, as well as some goals I have created in the past and am still working to keep a reality in my daily weekly routine.

Recurring Goals:

  • To cook and try a brand-new recipe each week (being that I am in my apartment or am able to cook for others a recipe of my choice)
  • Post regularly and keep up with posting and sharing content on The Pink Chickadee‘s social media platforms as well as on the blog and to engage with y’all who follow along and support this amazing platform of mine
  • To be able to write my own to-do lists and cross off most if not all of which I have set myself out to achieve in that given day
  • Maintain a physical regime, by walking or running each day in order to stay active, fit, and healthy
  • To travel to new places both near and far
  • Eat breakfast each morning (even if it is small), as I used to really struggle with this simple yet so keen to our health meal
  • To continue to advocate and speak out for the inclusion and wellbeing of others as well as myself
  • Make connections with other influencers and like-minded Lilly lovers and bloggers on my platform
  • To grow more in my Christian faith through praying each day for others and starting a daily devotional
  • Be the best classmate, friend, sister, daughter, blogger, and leader that I know that I am and am capable of doing
  • To be the best student in the classroom and in my leadership positions that I can be and strive to put as much as I can into all that I do
  • Adulting and doing big girl things on my own
  • Know my own capability and self-worth, even if I do not see it everyday within my own self and to encourage others to see their own
  • For the time being, to wear a mask and practice social distancing, in order to not only prevent to spread of Covid-19, but to help keep my friends, family, and the community around me safe and healthy
  • Consistently work on being my best self in all that I do

End of 2020 Goals:

  • Start running and be able to work my way up to run on hilly trails for 20+ minutes without taking a break
  • To expand my platform here on The Pink Chickadee even more than I already have in the past almost 6 months
  • Try some new crafts, such as creating handmade signs among other exciting things
  • Host a giveaway (or a few) on The Pink Chickadee in collaboration with other small businesses or influencers and bloggers
  • To continue to share new and exciting content on this platform
  • Make memories with my friends at college, even if it is in a social distanced manner for the time being, and get creative with how to make them
  • Be able to successfully finish out my final Fall semester as an undergrad (!!!) and most likely one of my most academically intensive one’s
  • Start searching for summer internships and networking with others in my industry, in order to broaden my search as well as potential opportunities
  • Get matching masks and shirts with my Meredith friends
  • Apply to graduate school for Fall 2021
  • Explore new hiking trails and parks in the Raleigh area as well as in North Carolina along with in the Northern Virginia-Washington, DC tristate area
  • Begin scrapbooking memories from past family trips, such as those that we took to Maine
  • *Finally* get my driver’s license
  • Begin a brand-new and super exciting endeavor (more to come on that in the next few weeks!!!)

2021 Goals:

  • Get an internship for Summer 2021
  • Be able to go on a graduation trip hopefully with some college friends
  • Get accepted and commit to attending graduate school in Fall 2021
  • Sign the lease on my first-ever post-grad apartment
  • Host a girl’s weekend at one of my family’s places as well as go on a little trip with my Big and Lil’s
  • Finish up my Honors Thesis and present it at my school and maybe at a research conference as well
  • Take a road trip with one of my best friends to Maine (we were trying to go there this Summer but due to Covid-19 we postponed)
  • Be able to successfully run at least a 5k and maybe even do a local race and/or fundraiser race
  • Visit new places in North Carolina such as Asheville, Charlotte, Boone, Winston Salem, Greenville, Emerald Isle, and Wilmington along with Charlottesville in Virginia
  • Graduate from college with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Mathematics and minors in Data Science, Statistics, and Web Development
  • Attend the Lilly Pulitzer Pink Retreat in Palm Beach, Florida *if not in 2021 then in the next few years*
  • Participate in one of Disney World’s runDisney events at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
  • Go parasailing or on a hot air balloon ride
  • Wherever I go after graduation, continue to maintain connections with each of my friends and family and make time to see them
  • Begin another exciting and brand-new endeavor (hopefully to come in Summer 2021!!)

Tips for Creating Your Own Goals

When it comes to crafting your own goals, it can definitely take some time for them to become a full reality, but little by little it can happen. For example, one of my goals for 2021 is to participate in a runDisney event at Walt Disney World, which would require me to be in shape to run at least a 5k. That being said, I am going to work my endurance up to be able to run at least a mile without taking breaks, two miles, and then three miles. I will start with running on flat streets and then working my way up to running up and down hills. Slowly but surely, I will make it across the finish line at Walt Disney World. Here, I have listed some tips on how you can strive to create and achieve your own goals moving forward!

  • When something comes to mind that you have always wanted to do, then WRITE IT DOWN!!! Whether it be on your phone or in a journal, if you have it in writing saved somewhere, then there is a better chance that you will remember it moving forward.
  • Have a bucket list?! Turn those list items into your own reality. Make that dream trip of yours to Europe a reality or finally go skydiving. While hopping on a plane is clearly not a reality at this moment, use this time to save up for that dream trip or activity of yours while keeping in mind a budget that you would aim to have.
  • Make an effort to try something new every week – whether that be a brand-new recipe or a new restaurant or trail in your city or even a craft. Trying new things is always good for the soul, and having those new things be apart of a goal however big or small it may be!
  • Dedicate some time to spend doing things for yourself. Beyond our goals within our academic and career lives which we should strive to put our time and effort into, we should also make time for our own personal goals. While our academic and career goals may be tied to some of our personal goals, it does not mean that we still cannot take time for ourselves such as to try a new craft, recipe, or a workout regime.
  • Make a to-do list and include aspects of your goals on it. Each and every day, I have my to-do list set on my laptop for what I hop to accomplish for the day. I typically map it out for a given day a few weeks in advance for it to alter a bunch and have many additions and even subtractions until the day arrives. Having items on your list related to your goals, such as taking a walk or reading part of a book you want to finish by the end of the month can help you to get even closer to achieving your goals. My to-do lists helps me check off what I need to do for the day as it pertains to academics and career-wise along with getting closer to my set goals.

Using and writing down goals for things that I want to achieve has really allowed me to use the time that I have in this world to my own benefit. Each of my goals is helping shape me into the best Katie that I can be. In fact, setting goals for yourself will only help you dig deeper into loving and caring for yourself. They say that self love is the best love, and goals can help you do just that. All I got to say is when it comes down to it, be a goal-getter!

XOXO – Katie <3

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5 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day as a Single Lady

Ahhh, the coveted February 14 is approaching us. Valentine’s Day is such a fun, love-filled day; however, it can be hard to embrace this special holiday when you do not have a significant other to spend it with. While having a significant other may make Valentine’s Day more exciting, it should not put a damper on the day. That being said, I decided to put together a list of five different ways that you can live your best single life as a single lady on Valentine’s Day! *Cues Beyonce’s Single Ladies*

1 – Shopping Spree!

I mean, who doesn’t love a great shopping spree?! Like many others, shopping has always been one of those activities that can easily brighten my spirits. I have always seen Valentine’s Day as a great time to treat one’s self. Around mid-February is also when many retail stores begin to carry their Spring merchandise. This means that not only will you get first dibs on some super cute Spring finds, but you’ll also be celebrating Valentine’s Day by giving yourself some love.

2 – Order Some Great Takeout

I don’t know about you, but if I’m not feeling 22, then I’m feeling some food! One thing that has remained a constant in my life is some great food, especially takeout. Valentine’s Day is a great time to show yourself some self love and treat yourself to some Postmates or UberEats from one of your favorite places. Food is ALWAYS a favorite, am I right?!

3 – Host a Girl’s Night!

One of the best ways to forget about being single on Valentine’s Day is to spend it with some of your favorite single ladies. Being with others who are in the same boat as you only helps relive what could have been a damper night. Another great thing about hosting a girl’s night is that there are literally ENDLESS possibilities for how you and your girls could spend it. From making fondue (check out this super easy non-fondue maker-friendly recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron) or brownies and ice cream sundaes, to watching a classic RomCom and testing out some new face masks from Target, or doing everything in between, a girl’s night is always an excellent way to spend V-Day!

4 – Get Out and Explore!

Travel has consistently been a favorite thing of mine! I have always been a firm believer that one can find something new in their own backyards. Have a museum or a park/trail in mind that you’ve always wanted to explore?! Valentine’s Day is an excellent time to check it out, while getting some me time in as well. One can also check out their city/town favorites again as well, as having a new set of eyes on a previously-seen place will only enrich your perspective of it. By seeing something old or new, you will be providing yourself with the opportunity to do something you have always wanted to do (and maybe even allowing yourself to feel less blue)!

5 – Take a Trip to the Animal Shelter!

Being on single on Valentine’s Day may make some people feel lonely. There are also many sweet dogs and cats that unfortunately may feel lonely daily in animal shelters. Visiting animals will not only cheer up your spirits, but you’ll make many animals’ days SO MUCH BETTER!!! Like ourselves, animals just want love too and showing it to them will only show yourself the beauty of animal love on a holiday founded upon love.

Being a single lady on Valentine’s Day can feel a bit drab to some, but it does not have to be. Although being single may be hard for us all single chickas out there at times, it is important to remember to strive to love yourself first before putting yourself in any kind of relationship. At the end of the day, it is about what you want both for yourself and in a potential significant other, and you will not truly know that until you fall in love with your one and only self. Be kind to yourself and show yourself love not only on Valentine’s Day, but today and everyday in between. Valentine’s Day is only one day. Go out there and have a Happy Valentine’s Day, you beautiful single lady <3

XOXO – Katie <3

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