January Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Hello!

January's journal prompts are here just in time for you to get started with them in 2016.

Journaling is a great habit to develop because it allows you to slow down and think. Taking the time to write each day can also help you to reduce your stress levels. Of course, I personally journal because I find it enjoyable, not because I'm looking for any other benefits in it. But, it's nice to know that there are other good reasons for journaling as well.

Writing in your journal does not have to be an obligation that takes all of the fun out of the process. If you want to start journaling, take a look at some of our journal writing resources.

As always, a printable version of the prompts is available at the end of the post.

January Journal Prompts

1. What are you most looking forward to?
2. Three goals for this month
3. Describe your day in ten words
4. Something that you're looking forward to
5. A time you don't want to forget
6. A trip you want to take this year
7. Your top three priorities
8. A list of the places you have visited
9. Do your actions match your words?
10. One thing you learned about yourself last year
11. A change you have overcome
12. A need you can meet
13. A place you have been recently
14. Someone who made you proud
15. A good idea
16. What are your personal gifts?
17. A quote that inspires you
18. A mistake that help you to grow
19. When you feel most rested
20. Words you want to share with others
21. Music that makes you feel adventurous
22. Three words that describe your style
23. The last fiction book you read
24. A project you've been putting off
25. The thing that frightens you
26. A person you would like to meet
27. A change to make
28. Thoughts about today's events
29. One thing you will always do
30. Something new to try
31. Your favorite part of the past month

 Get your printable PDF version of January's journal prompts here.

Have a good start to the new year!

Make sure that you get updates about future prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

December Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Hello everyone!

The December journal prompts are ready for you to begin writing tomorrow. It's been a busy past several months with moving and starting a new job, but I did manage to get this one up on time.

I cannot believe that it's December already.

If you're thinking about beginning a journal as one of your New Year's resolutions (If you already thinking that far ahead, good. I'm definitely not there yet.), then I'd encourage you to check out our other journal writing resources.

As always, a printable version of the prompts is available at the end of the post.

December Journal Prompts

1. Your favorite part of your day
2. What needs to happen this month?
3. How are you working towards your goals?
4. Three good things
5. Something you know a lot about
6. An important person in your life
7. Your favorite recipe
8. An event that turned out differently than planned
9. The best way to spend a cold evening
10. One thing that you could not give up
11. A goal you reached
12. Something to celebrate
13. How you procrastinate
14. What did you think you'd be when you grew up?
15. The best type of surprise
16. Your favorite household chore
17. The best gift you could receive
18. Music that helps you to relax
19. One thing you'd like to see
20. Favorite winter traditions
21. Advice you'd give to someone else your age
22. Something all people should know
23. What you'd really like to do tomorrow
24. Your top priority
25. A thing your life has in excess
26. How has your life changed since last year?
27. A book you want to read
28. The person you're always happy to see
29.One thing to do
30. The time of day you prefer
31. A word to describe the past year

 Get your printable PDF version of December's journal prompts here.

Have a happy season leading up to Christmas!

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

June Journal Prompts + Printable

Thanks to everyone who's been following along over the past month. With my return from France and adjustment to things at home again, it's been a busy, but enjoyable month for me.

Even though I haven't had as much time to post here as I would like, I am making it a priority to get these journal prompts to you for each month, and I plan to make a point of doing that through out the summer.

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through Etsy and an ebook version through Amazon.

Here's June's journal prompts.

1. A step you have taken towards your goals
2. Something good from last week
3. A time when you were frightened
4. A really good idea
5. The books in your to-read list
6. Something to remember
7. The best thing about your day
8. Your best qualities
9. Your top priorities
10. A new thing to try
11. Where were you a year ago?
12. Where were you five years ago?
13. What is home?
14. Your dream job
15. Favorite things in your town
16. Reasons to feel happy
17. Words you need to share
18. Something to give up
19. An area to grow in
20. An exceptional skill you possess
21. What motivates you?
22. What do you need?
23. A way you relax
24. The personal you are currently grateful for
25. The song you know all the lyrics to
26. A movie you can quote by heart
27. What fills you?
28. Who is your role model?
29. Are you a role model to anyone else?
30. What makes you proud?

A printable version is available at the bottom of the post.

Download your printable PDF of the prompts here.

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

 We hope that your summer is off to a great start! Let us know how you're using these journal prompts in the comments.

100 Books in 2015: Reading Challenge

Hi, everyone! Welcome to our first book themed Tuesday post of 2015.

Have any of you ever made a resolution related to books or reading? I absolutely love reading, but until this year, I had never thought to include it in my resolutions for the new year.

This year I have decided to intentionally do more of the things that I like. Which I think is a good type of resolution for anyone. You should do more of the things that you like. In fact, that is the kind of resolution you actually might be able to keep all year long.

One of my favorite activities is reading, but I don't do it nearly as much as I'd like to. It would be easy to say that it is because I have less time to read now than I did when I was younger, but, at the moment at least, that excuse isn't true. I have realized that I am spending too much time distracted by my computer. I would be much happier spending that time with a book instead.

My resolution is to read 100 books in 2015.

Have you heard of the site Goodreads? I've recently been using it to keep track of what I read and what I want to read. On the site, you can set a challenge for yourself in 2015. Even though it is my first time to do the challenge, I set mine for 100 books.

Isn't that a little bit ambitious?

Maybe. I have no idea how many books I read per year because I have never tracked it before. At the rate that I read, I think that it is definitely doable. I already have about 75 books on my to-read list (Hopefully, I can get my hands on all the ones that I want to read. Libraries are my favorite, but they can't always have everything.)

Thirteen days in, I have finished 3 books. Two of which were quite long. So, I think that I am on track.

Even if I don't manage to read all 100 books this year, I can already tell the difference that the resolution is making. Now I purposely turn to a book rather than immediately getting online when I get home from work. On days that I have off, I keep a book by my bed and pick it up first thing in the morning to read. My mind works more creatively when I read more, so I am enjoying that effect.

If you want to set your own challenge for 2015, go to Goodreads. For some ideas on what to read, check out our latest posts 10 Free Classic Books for Kindle, Books to Read After The Hunger Games, or read any of our book reviews.

Do you have any book related goals for 2015? Also, any book recommendations for me?

Get Fit in 2015 using Youtube

At the beginning of January, most of us make New Year's resolutions. For some of us these resolution have to do with losing weight or getting healthier in the upcoming year.

This year, one of my resolutions is to not just to get skinny but to get healthy.

Since learning almost all the muscles in my OT school anatomy class and being a nutrition major in undergraduate, I have such an appreciation for our bodies. I don't want to just be slim, I want to take care of myself and live well for a long time.

That means strengthening my heart with cardio and doing strength training to strengthen both my muscles and my bones. My plan is to exercise for 30 minutes every day that I can, and if I can't work out for 30 minutes to at least do something even if it's just for 5 minutes. Hopefully that'll help me make taking care of my body part of my lifestyle.

If you're like me though, you get bored doing the same workout video or exercise machine for thirty minutes. My solution the last couple months has been to break it up using fitness videos from youtube. My favorite are from popsugar, and they last 5 to 10 minutes. I combine a few videos, and before I know it my workout is over.

Here are a few of my favorite videos for beginners. I like to work out by focusing on one area a day. For example, I'll have an arms day, legs day, abs day, back day, and flexibility day, so I've tried to structure the list by areas. I also try to throw in at least one cardio video everyday, but you can structure your workouts however works best for you!

Warm-Ups

•  Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Ultimate Warmup

•  Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Cardio Warmup

Cardio

• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Jump Rope Workout
• My favorite
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute At-Home Cardio Sweat Workout
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Cardio Tai Box Workout
• This one is great if you want to work out some frustration!
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Bombay Jam Bollywood Dance Workout!
• So I don't have the coordination for this one, but if you love to dance this one is for you!
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Become Beyonce Dance Workout
• Because who doesn't want to be Queen Bey?

Arms

• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Tightest Arms in Town 
• This one is my absolute favorite! Perfect for beginners.
• Popsugar Fitness: 5-Minute Sexy, Sculpted Arm Workout 
• Since this one is only 5 minutes I usually do it twice along with the first arms video. You could also do it with heavier weights if you want to challenge yourself but only have 5 minutes.

Legs/Butt

• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Pilates Butt Workout
• My favorite. I can feel it working!
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute The Ultimate Inner Thigh Workout
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Leg and Butt Toning Workout

Abs

• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Abs and Core Without Crunches Workout
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Pilates Ab Workout, Define Your Midline
• This one is challenging for me! It's definitely effective though.
• Popsugar Fitness: 5-Minute Crop Top Workout 

Back/Shoulders

• Popsugar Fitness: 6-Minute 6 Exercises to Strengthen Your Back
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Bikini Workout, Arms and Shoulders
• Shoulders can be tough! It's definitely ok to start with smaller 2 or 3 pound weights.

Cool Down

• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Full Body Stretching Exercises
• I'm so inflexible. I need a good stretch at the end of my workouts.

Flexibility/Yoga

• Tara Stiles: 10-Minute Basic Breathing Beginner Yoga
• If you've never tried yoga before this is the video to start with. What I love about yoga is the focus on breathing and the slower pace of movement. Afterwards I always feel very calm and focused.
• Tara Stiles: 10-Minute Flexibility and Range of Motion Beginner Yoga
• Popsugar Fitness: 10-Minute Vinyasa Flow Workout

So obviously I'm a little obsessed with the Popsugar fitness videos! These videos are just what I like though. With all the videos out there on youtube you're sure to find fitness videos that work for you. If you want something a little different, Greatist has a really interesting, fun list of the best free workout videos on youtube. Hopefully, this gives you some ideas to get you started on your way to a fitter 2015. I'd love to hear what your favorite youtube workouts are!

Best of 2014 on Life of Lovely

With 2014 drawing to a close and 2015 quickly approaching we'd like to share a few of the most popular posts from the past year here on Life of Lovely.

From ideas on how to succeed in college, to books, cupcakes, and more, we enjoyed talking about all of these things here at Life of Lovely. Thanks to our readers who keep coming back to support us.

Here are the posts that you loved the most this year.

Good Grades: 30 Study Tips for Success in College

Journaling Tips

Back to College Essentials 

DIY Doctor Who Sweatshirt

Coca Cola Cupcakes with Ganache Icing 

Things to Do in Paris 

10 Free Classic Books for Kindle

Hope that your 2015 starts off well!

Follow us on Bloglovin, Twitter, and Pinterest to make sure that you don't miss any new posts this year.

5 Tips for More Restful Sleep

    This time of year, we all make resolutions for the New Year.  One of the most popular good habits to form is getting enough sleep.  As a college student and new middle school teacher, Elizabeth and I have picked up a few tricks for making falling asleep easier.  We hope these tips will help you keep your New Year's Resolution of getting more sleep!

1. Sleepytime Tea

One of my favorite bedtime rituals is drinking Sleepy Time Tea before bed. It has calming chamomile and mildly sedative tilia flowers. My favorite is the vanilla version. It smells like a cupcake! 

2.  Lavender Epsom bath salts

There’s nothing better than a hot bath before bed. Adding lavender scented epsom salt to this bath will not only calm you with the soothing smell but possibly help with any aches or pains you may have. You can buy an expensive version of epsom salts, but inexpensive versions work just as well. Just look for the ingredient magnesium sulfate.

3.  Yankee Candles - Lavender Vanilla

A relaxing scent is another way to create a sleep inducing atmosphere. I’ve become addicted to Yankee Candle’s Tarts wax melts. They’re little disks of wax that you put into the bowl of your wax warmer. They’re like candles but without the flame or commitment. I love candles, but I like the ease of changing scents without paying a lot of money for a new candle. For bedtime I would suggest scents like Lavender Vanilla or Cozy Sweater. 

4.  Sleep Mask

Once you’re actually in bed using a sleeping mask is an effective way to block out any light that may keep you from falling asleep or disrupt your sleep cycle. If you’ve never used a sleep mask before you’ll be surprised in the difference in the quality of your sleep. Plus who doesn’t want to pretend that they’re Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

5.  Ear Plugs

Ear plugs can also improve the quality of your sleep. At first they may feel a little funny, but once you get used to wearing them they are wonderful. If you live in a noisy area or if everyone in your house doesn’t go to bed when you do, ear plugs will help you fall asleep more easily. I find that ear plugs do not block all the sound, so sometimes I like to wear earplugs and use a sound app that plays soothing sounds like rain. There is a free app called Relax and Sleep that will play your desired sound on a timer.