Tag: joshua tree

How Traveling Can Benefit Your Mental Health x Twenty Nine Palms Holiday Inn Express Review

Did you know that traveling can be a huge benefit for your mental health? And due to today’s Mental Health Awareness Day, I wanted to write a blog post dedicated to how travel can actually benefit your mental health.

What is mental health? It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps how we determine how to handle stress, relate to others and make everyday choices. Today marks the start of mental health day. Sometimes the little things really do matter like helping a stranger, sharing a cup of coffee or simply having a chat can dramatically change a person’s day. I don’t claim to be an expert but I do know that sometimes listening is important so listen up, talk more, take a break and support each other.

Also, take a vacation, a change of scenery or even just a few hours down the road can magically improve your mental health. A lot of people normally ask me, as a designer – how do you manage to travel so much or go on many road trips on weekends? My answer is always because I absolutely need it. I’ve made traveling and adventuring become a part of my lifestyle because I truly believe that it heals me & it helps me keep my sanity & gives me that small break that I need. So here’s other few reasons why traveling is good for you.

  1. It’s another form of stress relief except more fun – Traveling helps us take a break from our constant boring routine from our day to day lives. It helps us escape our responsibilities for a bit and our worries!
  2. Excitement and happiness is boosted before you travel – Have you ever noticed how happy and excited you are right before your trip? Yes, that alone is healing to your body and mind. When we get so pumped about how much fun you’re going to have in your trip, that’s when you’re the happiest and when you’re actually doing what you had planned to do.
  3. It enhances your creativity – Have you noticed that most artists, designers, writers get their inspiration from a place or their latest trip or vacation? Maybe it’s because when our mind is at rest – that’s when we learn and soak in as much knowledge and inspiration the most. Plus, seeing/experiencing things you’ve never done before is always a great tool how to see things in a different light.
  4. It makes or break your relationships – Traveling helps you learn how you react with certain situations – it helps you as a person and how you adapt to certain unexpected scenarios and it also helps you learn what you can and cannot tolerate from another person. When put in a foreign country/place and you have a traveling buddy, it either strengthens your relationship or breaks it. Either way, it teaches you a lesson.
  5. It’s just so much fun – When you feel happy, your brain is happy. You get to experience life and things you’ve never done or seen before and because of this you’re constantly adapting and becoming the person you’re meant to be.

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I stayed at Twenty Nine Palms Holiday Inn Express, which is situated along Highway 62 and provides easy access to area attractions. The hotel is located three miles from the Oasis Visitor Center and seven miles from Joshua Tree National Park.

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This suite is pretty spacious and is perfect for busy bee business travelers. It has two TVs, a small kitchen with a sink, microwave, a fridge and coffee maker! We were surprised and happy to have all these features as we ended up using them more than we intended to. Also, there’s a free breakfast from 7 – 10 AM that has many options. They even had pancakes!

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There is much to see and do in 29Palms. The hotel is seven miles from Joshua Tree National Park where you can hike, mountain bike, climb and more. If you know me, you probably notice that I’m in Joshua tree almost every other month. It’s honestly my favorite place to have photoshoots in, hike, de-stress (they have the most beautiful sunsets and if you’re lucky, you even get to see meteor showers) & they also have vintage thrift shops almost around every corner!

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Thank you so much Twenty Nine Palms Holiday Inn Express for having us! We had a great stay for the weekend.

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How To Create Content + Make It Work With Your Lifestyle

A few of the questions people ask me are: how do you create content? how do you know what people like? or what will attract more followers?

So for today’s segment of thursday’s influencer tips & tricks, I wanted to share all the answers to those questions.

When creating content, I always go back to what I represent. So before you create your content ask yourself these few questions:

  1. What is your blog about? 
  2. What is your niche? Have you found it yet? If not, it’s time to define it.
  3. Who is your target market & why?
  4. Why do you do what you do?
  5. Are you willing to put in work and time to create brand new content all the time?

If I answered these questions, this would be my answers:

  1. What is your blog about? Made With Joy is a fashion, lifestyle + adventure blog who features the latest fashion trends, travel destinations and insider influencer tips and tricks.
  2. What is your niche? Have you found it yet? If not, it’s time to define it. My niche are millennials who love fashion, traveling and who just wants to live their best life. They like going to festivals, wine tasting, the newest adventure around the corner or going to road trips. They are very artsy and creative and love life and adventuring. They’re always looking for the next thing to do with their girl squad or with their significant other.
  3. Who is your target market & why? My target market are females between ages 21 – 35 who wants to live their best life and are tired of their 9-5 job, that just wants to escape and create the most out everything. And I am here to teach them how they can achieve that and how it is possible to live that kind of lifestyle.
  4. Why do you do what you do? I do what I do because I love girl power + female empowerment and how important it is to pursue our passion + also live our dreams out loud at the same time. I am here to inspire others that it’s possible and I may not be where I want to be yet but I’m on my way there.
  5. Are you willing to put in work and time to create brand new content all the time? Yes, absolutely.

Now your turn! After you answered all those questions. It’s now time to jot down your plan of action. Let’s get to it.

  1. Scheduling is key. What does your busy schedule look like? Are you super swamped that you don’t even have time to create anymore? Or be inspired? So get to scheduling. Schedule some “alone or me time” in your week. Then schedule your create content time, and your editing time and your having fun time and your family and friends time. Do what’s best for you and what will make you happy.
  2. Start saying “NO” and mean it. Do you even sleep? And eat? Do you take care of your body? Your mental and emotional health? I’m here to remind you that an unhealthy body/mind is useless when it comes to creating. If you’re physically, emotionally, and mentally drained – how do you think you’ll have the time and energy to create? Maybe it’s time for you to start saying “no” to partying every friday night with your girls or brunch every sunday. I’m not saying to give up on your social life but definitely be smart about it and who you’re spending your time with and why.
  3. Make creating content a part of your lifestyle. Once you have done those first two tips – it’s now time to look in your planner/calendar and start making creating content a part of your lifestyle. You almost have to live and breathe it. Always carry your camera with you or your phone. For example, I went to Vegas last weekend for my grandma’s 80th bday and while I was there I got to shoot for a beauty brand and a partnership with a hotel. Although, I still spent a lot of time with my family, I squeezed in a few photoshoot sessions (which by now my family has been very supportive of me and understanding) I used to be embarrassed when I was first starting but now it just comes naturally to me. I don’t even have second thoughts. I just do it. It’s all about changing your mindset, rewiring and training your brain and making it happen.
  4. Be organized, resourceful and be bold. Jot down all your ideas and find a way to squeeze them in your everyday life. Be intentional about it. Are you a food blogger? Start making your portfolio and visit a few restaurants + cafes. Once you have enough content, maybe you can now start pitching. Are you a fashion influencer? Every time you go to an event that you have to dress up or just simply look pretty, wear a fabulous outfit and ask your friends or even strangers to take photos of you! (I’ve honestly done this and it paid off. The first time I visited NYC, I woke up early to adventure on my own and it started snowing!!! I have never seen snow fall from the sky before and I totally asked a stranger to take a video of me twirling!) Was I embarrassed? Not really. I hesitated at first but I did it anyways as I’m never going to see him again.
  5. Get out of your comfort zone. Are you an introvert who’s afraid of what people will say or think about you? Let go of that mindset and do something new. Take risks. Talk to strangers. Ask for help. Until not caring so much of what other people think of you no longer bothers you. As an influencer, it is very important for us to try something new in order for us to influence others. Are you an extrovert who’s the life of the party and cant seem to get it together? You have so many ideas but you can never find time to make them happen. (This is me) So here’s my tip! Find your quiet place (whether you set some time aside like waking up an extra hour to plan your day or a beach day once a week) and write down your goals, ideas and plans and make them happen. Do the first 4 steps above and once you’ve done those – make things happen! Stop just talking about it and actually put in the work. 

Was this helpful? Let me know your thoughts and drop a comment below.

XO,

Joy

 

 

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Twenty Seven

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As I turn twenty seven tomorrow, a part of me normally gets emotional on my birthday – because I’m turning another year older. I usually reflect what everything I’ve learned, my goals and my aspirations in life. However, lately I’m actually feeling a bit more calm as I realized that maybe growing older isn’t so much of a bad thing. I’ve had a few realizations the past few months that I’d like to share and maybe growing older actually means knowing yourself more, knowing your worth, knowing what you want and knowing your happiness.

“If you want it, go for it. Take a risk. Don’t always play safe or you’ll die trying. If you always do something you are a little not ready to do, that’s when and how you grow. When there’s the moment of uncertainty on accomplishing things and you push through — that moment is when you’ll have a breakthrough.”

Someone once told me that most people are scared than brave and that statement makes me sad. I wish more people could be brave and take more chances. I wish there were more authentic people who wants the best for you and everyone around them but lately I realized that world we live in — everyone is mostly here to fend for themselves and I’m sure there’s many valid reasons behind this and how they even got there; even I, myself am learning to find out why but my hope is to never be the person who only lives for themselves.

A few months before I turned 27, I realized that:

  1. You will need to start taking of yourself more (physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually) — you don’t have a 21 year old body anymore. You can no longer party 3 nights in a row. You will need to work out 3 to 4 times a week — I sure need to start doing that soon. Your family and friends can only be there for you so much, you need to start taking care of yourself and ask yourself what’s destroying your inner peace?
  2. You will lose people/things in your life that are not meant to be with you forever (friends, lovers, relationships, jobs) — the past few years, I realized that losing people or things in general is inevitable, some are meant to be in your life for a few months, years even but that doesn’t mean that’s the end of you. Often times, we tend to seek validation from people or things that we hold value in our lives. This has happened to me before and my only hope is for everyone to know their selves first and love their selves enough to no longer need anyone for any kind of validation. Sometimes you also lose people or things just simply because they no longer fit in the kind of life you see your life heading and that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad thing. It just means another door has closed so another one can open for the right people in your lives.
  3. You start doing whats’s right for you — anyone else in their early to mid twenties felt stuck in the wrong relationship, job, career, toxic friendships? The good news is this happens less as you get older, by 27, you start to realize the only person looking out for you is you & those you can fully trust and has the best interest in your life. However, you still have to make the choice for yourself. Your best friend can only tell you a million times to drop that f***boy who doesn’t do you any good, but you’d still have to make the decision for yourself. When you realize that, you start to prioritize yourself and your own interests over others. As you get older, you start to realize what’s right for you.. what you’re looking for.. your goals and do all these things tie into your life?
  4. You can start all over again — this ties into the point above. Feeling stuck? You hate the choices you’ve made the past few years? You can still pick up a new hobby, a new career and kick ass in it. You can drop everything off and travel for a year and pick up where you left off.
  5. You no longer FOMO — you don’t have the fear of missing out any longer. You don’t go partying at the club till 2 AM anymore, or go to the latest raves just because your circle of friends are going. In fact, you start scrolling down your social media early saturday morning and say “I’m so glad I wasn’t there… there’s so many people.” You will enjoy your privacy a lot and alone time. You will start appreciating the simple things in life… and that you no longer have to try hard to fit in.. because you no longer care & you’re content with who you are.
  6. You’re more intentional and confident — with your actions, friendships, decisions, relationships, careers. I don’t go around trying hard to make new friends, just so i can gain more friends in my life. I know by now who I can depend on at my worst and laugh with at my best and I absolutely love them for it. You don’t look at yourself anymore feeling inferior of other people’s success. You are generally happy for your friends that are engaged, married, traveling another world, popped another baby and know that you will get there in your own time. You are also more intentional with your actions. You’ve learned that not everyone needs a reaction. (this was a really hard lesson for me to learn, personally) You learn how to pick your battles. Not everyone deserves your time, your worth and your energy.
  7. You also know by now that kindness is key & what love means… everyone is struggling and just trying to make it as much as you are… so you now choose to be kind even when you’re hurting… You’ve fallen in love and got your heartbroken maybe once, twice or many times by now. Yet, despite of all the pain and fear, you heal and will fall in love again. You will take a risk again. You will choose to love again because  you’ve managed to make it through your first heartbreak (& from what I’ve heard –that’s the hardest) & only because you know that love is always worth it, especially when it’s rare and authentic. But just because you’re giving love a chance once again – it doesn’t mean that you will be as foolish as before. You’re stronger, wiser and lastly, you’ve learned the meaning of self-love the past few years to know the difference between what’s worth it, what’s a waste of time and when to start walking away… You know yourself enough to know what you can bring down on the table and offer and what you can and cannot compromise in.

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Fringe Fest

Designers from New York to Paris — Valentino, Christopher Kane, Louis Vuitton, Antonio Marras, Issey Miyaki, Barbara Bui, Prabal Gurung embrace the playfulness of fringe for spring, giving hemlines, bodices, sleeves — making it bohemian, tribal or Western. Because of this undeniable trend and Coachella being around the corner, I was inspired to make a full on outfit with fringes. I made a kimono top with fringes, crop top with trims and a tight fitted asymmetrical skirt with fringes. To get the whole Western feels, www.alwayspangra.com and I had a photoshoot at Joshua Tree this weekend.

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What do you think about the Fringe Trend? Do you know what you’re wearing for Coachella yet?

XO,

Joy

 

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