Saying goodbye and new dawn

My dear readers! This is going to be a bit more personal blog post that I intended to do before. I finally have a free afternoon after working a few days for 12 hours a day. Why, you ask? Because I'm finishing with my library job and starting a new one. I know, I know. Well, we got fired so I needed to get a new job asap and a lovely team in L'occitane en Provence got me a ticket to their world. And I accepted, of course. BIG DEAL, I KNOW!!  Everything is going and advancing so fast I can barely breathe. Before noon L'occitane, afternoon the library. I'm only working, sleeping and eating for a few weeks now. It's been really hard to end a job you love, harder for me of course, because I'm not that used to those fast changes. I've been thinking a lot: did I do a good job, did I choose well?

I was thinking about how to end a chapter like this without getting hurt. You know that spring is a time of changes, new beginnings, refreshments... So first of all, I accepted the fact that my library work was done. I was a great and hard worker and people gladly accepted my help. That's something that calms me down when my mind starts to spin around thinking like crazy and my anxiety rises. Sometimes, the best things in life happen spontaneously. I accepted my new job as a brand ambassador and seller in one of the best cosmetic brand in the world with an open heart. I needed to say stop to my thoughts several times and it wasn't easy. I know my priorities. I'm still working on my web store as Višnja, still thinking and brainstorming blog ideas (maybe this little one deserves some changes too?) and trying to calm myself down the best way possible.
With my new job, my new schedule, I will try to eat healthier and loose some weight. Also, I'll try to start saving money for my summer vacations.

I started my spring cleaning at home and bought some fresh and colourful clothes to match and to fit in Provence :) So far I'm doing good. I hope this new chapter will lead me someplace good.

    Love, M.

The best woman in the world

Hello my dear readers! The last blog post was only in my mother language, so I owe you this one. I just have a few hours left until going to work and this is the best time to drink a coffee and write a blog post. As you know tomorrow is the international women's day. Are you planning to do something extra? Do you "celebrate" it?

I was reading about how the role of women changed among years and I still think that we (women) are not totally independent yet. Of course thanks to great movements we have become stronger, more powerful and less scared. The 8th March is celebrating women's achievements through history. In our country there isn't so much going on this day, it feels just like regular any other day. But let's take a look in other countries. In Russia, women's day is kind of big deal. Also in USA the 8th March represents the international peace day.

Why is it so important to celebrate a day like this?

Because with that, we support the great work great women do around the world to win more rights and shape a better and more tolerant society. We can't imagine how our role could be better, but think about women in other countries. India, perhaps? Many women around the world have great potential but remain unheard and by that can't live the life they imagined or realise their full potential. How would you feel?

It's great if someone remembers you on a day like this. It makes you feel good in your skin (because being woman is extremely hard but hey, that's what we wanted, right? Equal rights?), makes you feel stronger and beautiful. I got a great gift from L'occitane today, a little reminder how cool we are.

My father, as a true gentleman, takes us to lunch every year on the 8th March. Me and my mother get a bouquet of flowers, she gets red ones, I get more pinky ones. It's great, feels good to be important to someone.

In the matter of speaking, who is the best woman in the world you know? 

In my opinion, absolutely my mother. Yes, I know, we have a day reserved for mothers too, but anyway, my mother is like the strongest person alive. I rarely see her crushing. She is powerful, willing to help and stand up for you and herself thank god. I wish I could be more like her in this way. But anyway, we still have time to learn and teach.

Let me know in the comments about your best woman in the world. Do you celebrate the 8th March? How?

                                                                         Love, M.

The glory of living alone

I never thought I would live alone so very soon. I know, my parents moved away from their parents when they were like, 20, but now time's a bit different and a very important factor when thinking about moving. You need to be independent in so many ways, financially, emotionally, etc. Of course I didn't know that when I moved, or at least not in such a realistic way. I am now working, blogging, opening my business, keeping my creative inner child alive, cleaning my toiler, cooking, IRONING (god I hate that), not forgetting about my friends, spending time with my dog and still have some time for myself. Superwoman much?
I can't say I'm not happy, I am, very, living on my own is great, but also....

1. That laundry isn't gonna wash itself. So cut time in your me-time planner for some stupidity and start washing. Everything. :)

2. The moment you realise you won't be able to go on summer holidays because you haven't saved a penny because your pay is so small.

3. Oh, the bills: electricity, water, phone, FOOD! - try eat local/bio/etc. and see what happens, gas, ... I need to save money.

4. It takes time to master cooking for one. I still don't know how much spaghetti to cook for lunch and I end up eating them for dinner too. Thank god salad doesn't care:)

5. You really need time for your friends. It gets lonely living alone. Sometimes. Otherwise it just feels great no one bothering you about WHEN are you going to clean up.

6. Invest in bookshelves, because books need a special altar for them.

7. Also, invest in some cute decor, it'll make you feel really good. I'm changing my decor seasonly, now I have some bright flower bouquets, a bird chain where I keep a good candle, etc. Very springy :)

8. Declutter to keep everything in order. I love it. Makes my soul brighter and happier.

9. It's finally THE time your toilet seat won't be left up for no reason. YAY!

10.  Remember to double check your curtains if walking naked.

Although living alone can be kind of frightening and sometimes really hard (to save money and live with nothing or not to save money and eat local, expensive and very healthy food? - my first and most important existential question:)), it gives you that freedom you don't have with living with your parents. I had some troubles adapting to my new place, but when I decorated it the way I wanted I now feel very peaceful and secure here.

Did you have any troubles moving away from your parents emotionally? How do you keep on track now, with so much to be done in a day? Would love to hear your experiences and tips down in the comments.
                                                                             Love, M.

Love from A to Z

When everyone is getting totally in the mood for upcoming Valentine's day, I'm just thinking how clichè did we make this festive day. All heart covered up from head to toe, pretending to love one another dramatically and "erase" all conflicts and disagreements for a day, just to let everyone know we are another great couple? I'm not buying this.

Just like Carrie experienced all the things she wrote about I was thinking to do the same this. So I asked some people I know about their Valentines day. Here's what they said:

A friend of mine (male) thinks that having a feast that glories love is great, but you actually don't need it just as reminder that you have to buy something for your significant other. "If you can't buy your lady a rose on a random date, don't buy her one on Valentines day just because you have to." He thinks that small attention during the year means a lot more that the one on Valentines.

Another lady thinks that Valentines day could mean two things: Boasting about what your significant other bought you, the big gifts or a ring you wear so proudly, on the other hand she exposes this feast as a reminder to really take time to yourself and your significant other, to pamper yourself, go someplace together etc. She thinks there isn't about gifts that make this feast, but something deeper. The only bad thing about it is that we only take time to really express our love on this day.

Here's what I think. On Valentines day we only talk about our significant others. Valentines day could be a feast to really remind you firstly about yourself, to take time as we do for New year's resolutions and think about what makes US happy at the first place, who are we, what do we want to become, is there anything we would like to work on or change on OURSELVES? The love we feel about ourselves is much more important than the one we share around. If we have a lack of self-love, how will we express it to others?

And by others, I mean our family, our true friends, our animals, people we work with, our lovely place we live in and our significant others. Where are all those persons and things during the rest of the year? Do we live apart from our parents and we call them only once a month? Do we take a day in our busy week to have a good lunch and talk with our friends? Do we really?

I don't. I can honestly day I don't take enough time to spend it with my friends. But since the love day approaching, I have written down the things I need to work on more to spread love more.

1. Take a day for yourself. Go get a massage or go swimming more often.
2. Call your friends more rather than texting them.
3. Make sure to spend enough time with my animals. They are always there for me, so I need to love them twice that much back.
4. Spend more time with my true friends. Take coffee, go shopping, go swimming, go to a dinner. Have a good talk.

How do you feel about Valentine's day. Is it really just about our boyfriends and girlfriends? Where are WE in this mess? Would love to read your comments about this topic.

                                                                     Love, M.

It's all over/changing

Finally everything's over. My college is done, I got two exams left but I'll take them next year. Finally I can breathe. I still don't know what's going on. Anyway, I was on a little vacation these days. I went to a library that was so big and full of books that I didn't know what to take home. I left (of course) with a full bag of psychology-related books. So when I do that, I usually read some pages of all and then decide which book will I read first. Reading the first few chapters of Letters to Louise, I got me really thinking about my life.

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Do you ever sit down and think about it for a while? Are you happy?

I'm not. Fully. I wish I could be more free. Without any pain in my stomach when I go somewhere. I have a feeling I need to get away from everything for all the summer. Doing what I want. I'm really thinking about spending a month by my granny's house. Like in my old days. Chilling on the balcony reading books and spending time in the city. No rush to go or to be anywhere.

My life needs to be changed. To be built again. Right from the start. How I look, what I wear, the way my body looks like, what I listen to, what my hobbies are, who my friends are, where I live? and what I do. I need that freedom. Seriously I have no idea where to start. Well, I started meditating and it feels different. But that's it.

Ever got a urge so hard to change yourself from bottom to the top? What did you do?

                                                                          Love, M.

How to be professional in your 20s

So, my last finals are on their way now and I'm studying like crazy. MY LAST FIVE! Hey, can you imagine how quick am I running to my degree? I'll be a psychologist, yay! My wishes came true through my hard, and by that, I mean hard work. I am continuing my education to be an integrative psychotherapist. Sounds great, right?
With that I'll step in a more mature world, so I was asking myself what can we do to look and be more professional already in our 20s. People may still see us as girls, but we are like, totally grown up!

1. Respond you emails within 24h. It's very important to have a clean and organized email. Delete all spams and all advertising messages that you don't need. Also unsubscribe to all sites that are just making your email heavier. When you receive an important email, try to respond within 24 hours. That's how the person will know that you take your job or whatever seriously and you respond even if it's not important or you need to decline something.

2.HappyThankyoumorePlease. Be polite to people when talking or messaging. Say thank you and please more often to be more professional. Shake hands with people when meeting and leaving. Don't forget to smile :)

3. Seek people you want to work with. Try to find people that are in your niche and that you would like to work with. Don't be happy with just leftovers. LinkedIn is great for setting up your page with experiences and connect with other people. Try it. I am thinking about creating a new profile and take LinkedIn seriously.

4. No more #, LOL, ROLF...What the . . . is that anyway? Try speaking more professionally. Practice in class, have your own presentations, try to speak at a conference, ... You can gain so much if involving in public speaking.

5. Private is private. It's time to keep your drunk images for yourself and not for your whole facebook. If you think that pictures can still appear somehow on the internet, delete them from your phone. Also facebook doesn't want to know if your heart if broken, if you date 10 guys at the same time, etc.

Are you using some of those tips? What do you do to be more professional? Would love to hear from you.

                                                                     Love, M.

Color therapy

When I went to L'occitane's skin treatment I wore a magenta shirt and I looked just like a peony from their collection :) A seller there told me it's great to wear colors that can produce some great feelings and emotions in you. I was thinking about that and decided to share some tips with you on what to wear in some occasions and when to avoid a particular color to bring you success and happier life.

1. Purple is great when you have your period. Research show than wearing purple can calm your menstrual crams. I wear purple 2 days before my period just in case. Also, purple in known to represent wisdom and spirituality. I own some purple yoga clothes too.

2. Yellow. Maybe in a job interview you can avoid yellow color if you want to be successful. It could look like you're critical and non-emotional. But otherwise yellow can fill you up with optimism and confidence. Wear it if you need to make serious and clear decisions. Yellow color stimulates your nerves and purifies the body.

3. Green is such a great color. I bet when you say green you think about nature. That's right. Green color represents the love of nature, family and friends. You can wear it on your family dinners or when you spend time with friends. It cares about your balance and makes you a great listener. Also it can relieve stress and restores energy. Green is also known as a color of luck and makes you more emotionally balanced.

4. Aqua as a part of green color is a color of spirit and can heal emotions. Great! I could totally wear an aqua amulet on my necklace.

5. Black on the other hand can make you unfriendly because of it's power, so don't wear it for your job interview if you don't know how to wear black properly. Anyway it can make you strong and formal, like you have the power and control. It's also great to hide feelings and fears but it can protect you from stress too.

6. White represent purity and perfection. It can help you if you have to be creative and organized. It helps you reflect something and also represents how clean you are.

7. Blue. You can totally wear blue on your job interviews, public speakings, work, etc. It shows that you're a team player, your calm and serenity. It helps you lower the body temperature and soothes illness and treats pain. But careful! Blue can also create sadness.

What do you think? Which color do you wear the most? I can say I'm so afraid of white. I never wear it. I own a white shirt but thank god it has print on.
Will you now be more careful or try any of this colors in some situations to test if it's really like science says? :)
                                                                     Love, M.

Loving from Berlin, I welcome you

Just like I said in my Finding my Niche post, some changes were made on my blog. I renamed it and I'm so happy with the way it looks  now. I will post different topics from now on, no more just write something because you haven't done anything in a week and more psychology, travel, organizing and well, who knows what.

                                                                         Photo source

I decided to keep all my old posts on the blog so we can all see the progress I made and will make from now on. If I will gain more readers, I'm planning also a subscription to my blog.

You will plan with me when I go travel, I'll write my progress in moving to Berlin for a while and yes, you will know when I finally finish my college. That could also be a reason of totally changing my blog.

Now I'm heading off to L'occitane's skin care treatment with Peony. I hope they haven't totally sold out The discover Peony bag with goods, I would like to have one really bad. That travel size products are great :)

                                                                               Love, M.

Finding my niche/blog under construction

A while ago I found a blog that got me reading and reading from it's first to last post. I don't usually follow blogs with that intensity, but that one really kept me reading. I have a tab of it opened on my chrome and I check every day what's new. This one is a travel blog from WOW, and with The TCP the two of them form my daily blog checklist. I follow The college prepster for two years now and I'm still impressed of Carly. I adore her. Too bad she lives in NYC, I mean so far away from me, I love NYC too, but I would love to meet her. Such a talented lady. Her blog is more a lifestyle one.

Before I launched The mint cup of tea I barely knew nothing about blogging, except that I'm starting to swim with sharks in a bloggers world. I've been blogging for almost a year now and still I think there's something wrong with my blog (my perfectionism, I know). When I purchased this template I got now, I was so happy. My blog started to appear better. But still there was/is something missing.

I always knew my blog would be a lifestyle blog. We have tons on beauty bloggers and buying make up and writing posts about it all the time isn't really my thing. No offence, beauty bloggers, I love to read you, you share great advice and true reviews that help me a lot when buying something new. But you really need to be a bb person to run a blog like that.

So since I'm approaching my Bachelor's degree in psychology with speed of light, I'm thinking to turn my blog more in a psychology way, with more advice on (mental) healthy living, tips on how to overcome something and some tricks only psychologist know. Also I'm planning to share some travel tips. I tend to be highly organized when packing and travelling. Coming to a new city now knowing where to sleep kind of freaks me out. Maybe I'll post a diary on my overcoming anxiety progress (that could be something, right)?

I'm still not sure if I will just delete posts I didn't like until now or not. But sure will take these steps:
1. I need an editorial calendar.
2. Every day I will read at least 10 posts and comment on posts I like. That's how my blog will get recognized.
3. Work on promotion. In real life and on social media. I'm going to make a plan and share it with you.
4. Bigger isn't always better. So I will post frequently, but if I'll be stuck for a day that's okay.
5. I need to improve my photography.
6. Change my name? You tell me.

That's it. I can do it, right? So tell me, how did you find your niche? Did you know from the very start what you want?
                                                                            xoxo

10 things I've learned in the last year

Hi my beautiful readers! I know it's March but it's never late for a "10 things" post.  I've been thinking about everything so much lately, I couldn't even sleep one day :) Thinking about all the things I've learned in the last year, I can proudly say I am so much stronger as a person, my personality is doing better and I know how to handle a lot of things. I needed this post to look at it at the end of the year and be proud of what I've accomplished and what will still be on my to do list. So here's what I've learned in the last year.

1. It's OK to be busy. But you need to know how much can you handle. Be careful please! You don't need to risk a burn-out because of those three jobs you are working and you like neither. Make a schedule and push yourself towards your goals (but not too much). I'm working two student jobs, am a good (yes, good!) blogger and I'm a student between all those things.

2. It's never too much writing to be done. That I've learned at the end of last year. I love writing since my high school, but I was never brave enough to show the world what I can do and how do I think. Well, guess the time has come last fall, when I relaunched my blog, and this time for good. I apply to a lot of blogging and writing assignments all over the world. Why? Because it's fun to take 20 minutes a day and think about something important people would like to read about.

3. It's OK to say NO. When there's too much. I've been working every day, came home, slept for 2 hours because I was so exhausted and than studied late. It was too much for me. I became sick and I knew my body is trying to tell me I couldn't handle it anymore. Now I don't work so much anymore and still have a bit more time to breathe and process everything that's happening. Today I was thinking how busy I am: I don't remember what do I eat!!! That was really a red alarm (and some more pounds alarm).

4. Listen to your body. Like I said before, your body is your best friend, it's telling you when to carry on, when to stop and what to do! But you'll learn that hard way probably, like I did.

5. Take time for college. Go to classes which you think are the most interesting and important for what are you going to do in your life. Take great notes, read books and do some extra courses. I'm ending my positive psychology course this week and it's been hard, but worth every penny. I learned a lot, I will be able to get a certificate later and to do LKM, yay! I'm so proud of myself.

6. Make little but valuable friends. I think I mentioned this in one of the previous posts, but it's so important to me. As you're growing up you see that some people aren't worth your time. Let them go and keep those who you really are who you are. Those that you can call anytime to ask for advice. Those are friends that you'll invite to your place once and you'll have a chat and a glass of wine. Or a bottle, whatever :)

7. Invest, invest, invest. In your wardrobe, in your education, in your blog, in your business. It'll be worth it.

8. Without yoga, I am nothing. I'm not healthy, my mind is not free, I feel like a prisoner without yoga. Nothing feels as good as after yoga class. I've invested (look at no.7.) in a great yoga mat, leggings, water bottle, everything to feel even better.

9. Be kind. This one I've learned from Ellen DeGeneres. "Be kind to one another, bye bye". Problems are solved faster and in a better way.

10. Remember you're unique. Do something (or anything) you like. If you don't want to live in that app., don't, if you want to go to China, go, if you want to make home made jewelry, I'll buy that. You are incredible and capable of doing anything that you love.

                                                       So be kind to one another, bye bye :)

DIARY OF AN ANXIOUS LADY #2

7th March    Pelin

Oh great. We're heading off to Marcel's again. "Don't worry, don't worry, you are doing just fine. Ok, breathe in, breathe out. I'm so stressed out. What do I need to pack in my weekender? What will my puppy need? Do I have my charger? My wallet? My stomach is up again. Yay!" 

Actually when we got there, Pelin haven't had any problems. Her mind and her inner voice was sleeping tight. Isn't that just, marvelous? When the sun went down her mind was half up, but nothing that extreme. The problems started the next day. We Pelin and Marcel were actually  on their way home, it seemed like her mind rose up a day late. "Oh yes, here it comes". Her stomach became upset. All those turns on the road, carrying her puppy in a bag, watching her what's she doing and thinking, oh thinking: "Tomorrow I need to go to work. Shit, I don't feel good today, tomorrow it'll be worse, you are so going to puke there, don't even bother going. They'll send you away, you'll be useless."

                                                                             Source

So yeah, Monday morning, Pelin didn't go to work or college. Also on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and a day after that. She was sleeping late and thinking about the worst scenarios. Again. Marcel knew a bit of what's going on. But nevertheless, no one could help her. No one knew. 

It was pure fear.

Moving

Well, these days I can't stop thinking about m-o-v-i-n-g. This summer I'll finally get my Bachelor's  and will be free to finally start my life as a full grown-up. Oh, what am I talking about. Basically I'm thinking of taking a year to myself and take some courses. I hope to live in a nice apartment in the city (Ljubljana) and after a year I'll become a yoga teacher and a supernutricionist (it's a nutritionist for super foods, but it combines knowledge of nutrition and traditional Chinese medicine). I'm exited. Also I wish so much to finally move and have my own place to stay, to decorate it my way and everything. I'm working so hard to be able to afford that next year.

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Glancing back at my life as a Uni student I think it was kind of the best part of time in my life. I gained some precious friends that I won't forget for life, got a love to be proud of and got lots of experience. Also I was stressed like all the time, sick for like 4 months every year and got a severe anxiety, but that's not something I will remember. I remember my all-nighters, struggling through all those medical books with my uni friends, noteworthy coffee times when we (me and my 2 great friends) babbled about boys and girl problems, exam cheating, etc. This period of time was great because of all freedom you have. I'll miss that probably. Maybe I don't want to grow up 100% already.

                                                                          Source   
Going away from home also scares the hell out of me. Being homesick even if thinking of moving is totally my thing. I'm thinking how will I survive (mentally, of course). But that's also something I'm thinking about a lot. If I will be able to find a cozy apartment, where I'll feel at home and most of all, safe, I will be good with that. I will have much more time for myself, for growing my blog and growing as person, and also growing my upcoming business (Etsy, Etsy!*keep reading my blog to find out more).
And after that, who knows what will happen?

Tell me, how did you "survive" going away from home? How did you manage your homesickness, if you had one?
                                                                           xoxo

Things Only 20-somethings Will Do

It's a guest post Monday! I'm so happy to work with Malia from cmalia.blogspot.co.uk. I was reading her blog and I was so delighted when she was in for some guest post swap. Since we're both alike, we decided to write about more mature themes. I think I feel good in my 20-something's, but growing up can be hard, but beautiful experience for ourselves. Here's what Malia thinks. I totally see myself in those descriptions, what about you?

                                                                              Source

You thought that your tween years were hard, but coming of age is the biggest change you will ever go through. You might be reading this as a just-turned-20, if so you're wondering why you can't stop feeling like a teenager. If you've hit 22, you've only just come to terms with being a 20-something and if you're 25+ well I'm yet to find out all about that.

Spending most of your early twenties worrying about not feeling like a grown up and realising how your vision of being 20 was completely different to how you always perceived can be shocking, confusing or depressing. Here are 10 things I think many of you 20-somethings might have stumbled across.

You're constantly researching about why the contraceptive pill is bad for you.

Though it can seem like the easiest way to not get pregnant, it comes with a whole lot of allowances. Putting on weight, irregular periods and awkwardly discussing your sex life with your doctor are just the few. Oh and missing a pill and panicking about whether the course of your life is just about to change in disastrous ways.

You can't wait to come to that settled self-certain place in you're life but are revelling at the idea of being a tumbleweed blown by the wind.

You thought you'd have it all figured out but you're actually no different to that 18 year old you (well in some ways). You still find yourself saying, "when I grow up..." Don't get me started on the realisation that we're in our 20s and we're already supposed to have fulfilled some of our 'grown up' ambitions. 

Celebrities are actually younger than us. Hurry up success, hurry up.

You're feeling broody. 

Babies, babies everywhere. Everyone around you seems to be getting pregnant.

Grown up things like moving in with your long term boyfriend or actually understanding how bank accounts really work excite you. 

How did we not know what an ISA was? Though there are some grown up things that won't excite. Paying the bills. Washing. Cleaning.

Homeware excites you, and if you're anything like me you love to shop at Waitrose and M&S Food.

Scented candles, a book/film and fluffy socks have become a regular thing.

You feel you need to dress more modest or grown up but don't want to let go of your slogan Tees. 

Yes, I'm thinking of THAT sheer "PARENTAL ADVISORY" slogan crop top you wore on your nights out. Hello sexy pencil skirts and blouses buttoned up right to the top.

You're struggling to do this whole workwear formalwear thing.

You realise that most of your wardrobe consists of hoodies, baggy jumpers and t-shirts and resolve to buy wisely in future.

Tell me what you've learnt as a 20-something in the comments below and over on Twitter @MaliaChoudhury. See more posts like this over on Malia's blog (cmalia.blogspot.co.uk)

Who are you when no one's watching?

I'm sitting here in my room thinking about myself a lot. I've been sick for a week, I got a virosis and needed also to get an infusion. I thought I would die lying on that hard hospital "bed", if you can call it so. I've had this phobia of hospitals since last year when I needed to spend some days there because I got a bladder infection. Since then I've thinking a lot about that. I used to cry a lot because I was so lonely there and because I was so terrified. I could die. I don't know how does that feel.

This made me blog about who I am offline, away from mobile devices, computers and people. I don't wear that smile all day every day, I'm not doing extreme yoga moves all day and I'm not baking free-something pastries all the time. 

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Can you look in someone's eyes and say: well, no, I don't wear this perfect makeup everyday, in fact, I wear this perfect makeup rarely. I walk in yoga pants at home. And sometimes, well, I eat white bread too. And french fries. And Nutella. But you don't see that pimple on my forehead the day after, because Photoshop does magic with a click.

Sometimes I don't wash my hair in the evening, because I don't need to. I'm staying home the next day. And I don't do all my college assignments perfect, even though I'm trying so bad to study every day. I spend two hours a day watching my favorite Italian telenovela. I walk my dog at 6 a.m. in my pyjamas. And most of the time when I'm blogging, my office is a mess. And most of the time, I don't feel guilty because my prettiest dress is still in the closet and my nails aren't done.

I keep most of my relationships offline, I'm not nice all the time. I hate sports, my PMS drives me crazy and I live with a general fear most of the time. That's who I am. 
But I'm the happiest when I see a new comment on my post, my lovely Zoya kinda smiling at me, an ebay package in the morning and my loved ones that hug me (when I need to-or when I'm in the mood).

But you need to understand that, when I'm writing and what I'm writing, comes straight from my heart, where I'm, well, looking good from head to toes. Even though nor you or I can see that. Not everything I write suits best to all of my readers, but those who love me will wait for a post written for them. Because I don't forget to please you all, my wonderful readers, with my posts. With or without my makeup, don't forget.

Who are you offline?

                                                  

Accomplishments VS. Goals

                Happy New year to all of my readers! I wish you all the best for the future.
My Bff got me a cute little notebook for my birthday (similar to this one) and I didn't know what to write into it. Suddenly I found out that I will seriously need a blog journal this year, since one of my resolutions is keeping the good work with this little one that you're reading. The first page is about my accomplishments from 2014 and my (big, bright) goals for 2015. I'm so glad that 2014's finally over. It wasn't one of the best years of my life. I've been sick almost all summer, got a severe anxiety, but nevertheless, I accomplished a lot.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

1. My one and only: Mint cup of tea. Starting a blog in 2014 is like going to swim with sharks since there are so many bloggers. But I needed this. This is my life, my relaxation, my future. I needed someplace I could go and write about things I bought, things that happened to me and my plans. I'm slowly growing, in those three months I got 3k visitors and a lot of new followers on social media. I would still like you to comment more often, I'll be super happy.

2. I started doing yoga. For real. Big time. I finished first part of course to become a yoga teacher. Love it. I didn't know how peaceful you can get while gently stretching your body and repeating some mantras. Three years ago my heart was in theatre, but because of full time college student I couldn't do that anymore. You can't imagine the sadness in my heart. Now I feel in love again, this time with yoga. Even though theatre is something I will never forget.

3. I got help for my anxiety. I saw one of my favorite bloggers Dana from The wonder forest had the same problems. I'm glad I'm not the only one, but like I said, as a future psychologist I'm trying to spread the word that anxiety isn't a disease, but a temporary condition and it ends at some point. If you have the same problems and you want to talk about them I would love to hear your story! I got help soon enough to already feel some differences in my behavior. 

4. I made a progress in college. It's my final year, yay! I'm studying like crazy and want to do everything as soon as possible, so I could finally start living as a true grown up (did I say that?)

5. I got a student job. As a writer for a local healthy shop. I'm so happy and doing my best of course. They seem to like me a lot. I don't earn much, but I still love this job. It's great because I can work from home. Before that it was hard for me to work somewhere, because I literally had to be in another place for some hours and I had so much work for college to be done that I couldn't work like that.

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GOALS FOR 2015

1. Personal. I decided to work on myself a bit more, to treat my anxiety and other health-related problems. I hope I will stay strong with all of the stress college is causing me. I will do yoga and swim once a week. I love water. This year I'll travel more. I'll finally go to Paris! Imagine that! I hope I could live in Graz for a month, that would be really good for me. This year I will say YES more often. And NO if needed. I won't spend so much time doing things I don't like.

2. Blog. This year I'll find a way to get more readers. This is my first year in blogging and I love it. I will think about a new template, fresh and new downloads, tips and advices. I decided I'm going to post more about beauty products, review them and show you how to make your own cosmetics. I hope I'll find a magazine or some people to work with, share thoughts and explore new things. If you want to work with me, do some guest posts, please let me know.

3. Organization. I totally want to grow my organization skills. I bought myself a a new planner and a little different one, where I would keep on track my  personal life, personality and figure. And since finals are coming, I need to learn that quick :)

4. Get a diploma. I still haven't written more than 6 pages. I feel like I'm going to lock myself in a hotel room, eat their great food and just write, write write like crazy. I can't wait to close the computer and say: I DID IT. And than there will be party with cake and champagne.

5. Get a puppy. After my diploma, my boyfriend's parents will get me a puppy. Bright days are coming. I will totally replace being so much online with my little baby girl, her name will be Zoya. I will pamper her more than myself. I know my mum will be angry for a lifetime, but I really think I need a distraction. And some love my puppy will bring me.

        I would like to know what are your goals for this year? Are you planning anything exciting?
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How to plan your year + FREE PRINTABLE!

Hello again! Well, yesterday me and my family had a one-day-after-Christmas lunch together. It was great having all of my people at our house. We had so much to eat and I'm full for a month now, really. Today all of them went home and I started to "worry" about the new year. I don't know if I have any plans, anything to change,...Yesterday I talked to my boy about that and we decided to go swimming once a week, starting in January, so this would be our resolution and I'm fully ready. You know how much I love swimming and water in general (here's why).

I still have to think about how my new life will look like next year. They say you must forget everything and start from the bottom again. A blank page. I could do that. It was a difficult year this 2014. I was ill for a month in SUMMER!, had problems in college and, well that's a good one, started my mintcupoftea blog. I don't know if I learned something. Definitely not how to worry less (that could be also my new year's resolution).

I feel that I'm not the only one in this. I hope there is someone like me that still doesn't know how to (re)start in the new year. Since I'm a psychologist I emphasize personal growth so much, that's why I decided to made a worksheet "REVIEW 2014 AND PLAN YOUR 2015" that can help you with your planning.

                                                      You can download the worksheet here!  (Just click: click here to start download from Sendspace on this site)

The first part is to reflect your 2014 and the second one is to build a base to the year of 2015. It's free and I hope you will use it to see how strong you were this year and what you need to do and how to take care of yourself next year.  If you have any more questions on how to use this worksheet or anything else, feel free to contact me.
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Diary of an anxious lady

Today I'm starting a new column named Diary of an anxious lady. I wanted to share some thoughts how anxiety feels and how to beat it if you can. I'm going to post frequently, where all of the events are real, and so are the characters. I changed their names and some circumstances. The main character in this diary is called Pelin, a girl with dark black hair, a perfectionist with an anxiety disorder. Her other half is Marcel, a boy with a lot on his mind, but carrying an endless love in his heart. 
With this diary I hope to approach anxiety as an state in a lot of people's life. Here's my first post.

                                                                                                                                December 6th. Pelin
Oh god, we're going on the road again. Terrible feeling. I can't breathe. My stomach is starting to hurt. It's happening again. Okay, breathe, breathe. Doesn't help. I feel a bit relaxed since my parents are going too. If something happens to me, they will be there for me. But I don't know any hospital in that city. What are the doctors like? Don't worry, you won't need them anyway. But what if...
I'll vomit right now. But I can't, otherwise my stomach will hurt twice more and I won't eat a thing. Half way there I'm trying to get some sleep, but I can't. When I close my eyes my demons wake up. That's what I call my thoughts. I wish I could lock them in a closed and throw them away for life. But I don't know how to to that. Marcel holds my hand all the way. But he also doesn't understand. They tell me it's all in my head and I know it, but I can't help myself. When we arrive to my grandmother's, I fell like I won't eat a single bite. I just want to rest. The house if full of people, celebrating a birthday. Well, thanks to that I don't think so much about my non existing problems. At the end of the day I'm feeling a bit better, but I know tomorrow we're on the road going back home again. God, I feel a pain in my stomach again. It hurts so much that I fall asleep.

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The ocean

You know that babies have a natural ability to swim, right? This firstly water-like fluid originates from the maternal plasma of course. That's also why water therapy is great to heal anxiety, to release stress,...I heard about it before, you lie in a small pool, full of hot (sea)water in a darker environment. 15 minutes of this kind of therapy equals 1 hour of deep meditation!!! Yay the sea!

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I've lived by the sea for ever. I don't remember my first touch with the sea, but I sure remember my first swim without those arm bands I hated so much. There was no freedom with them! I started swimming early. I couldn't wait for summer to spend those three months living in the other country in our holiday house 100 meters from the sea. The water so bright, the spirit so good is what made me feel safe and infinite. 
By the time I grew up I discovered a deeper connection with the sea. It became my spiritual friend I needed so much that time. Every day I went to a local cliff and sat there for hours (I guess that's the time I found out about meditation?:). It calmed me, re-filled me with peace and energy and answered my questions. I watched the waves and listened to the sound of pure, endless love.
I still go there sometime, when I'm sad or when I need to concentrate on myself (or on the sea). That's something I think I couldn't live without. 

My only wish is to see the wide ocean once. 

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How to love yourself

It's so cold outside, I've been a bit sick, my tummy hurts but still I'm positive and happy. Today i decided to reflect how you should love yourself. Because you should:)
I've never really been a thin and tall girl, but i still had a lot of good friends and a lot of inspiring opportunities from the environment. I'm glad about that. I'm glad that i wasn't someone who people shouldn't be friends with because of my weight or the way of thinking. No one should be in that position. No one can tell how you should think or do things.

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Beauty? Yes. Very important. Which one? Your choice. Since i knew i couldn't been skinny as i wanted to, i decided (after years and years of unhappiness) to love myself the way i was. What happened? I got rid of some extra pounds, i became more healthy, i bought myself new clothes that i loved and that fit me and there i was: prepared for the life itself.

Knowledge. There is no book not to be read and no thing not to know. Grab every opportunity to learn something new and something that you are interested in. You'll see how satisfied you will be at the end.

Be open. For new love, friendship, job. Anything than can spice up your life. It's worth it.

Decisions. Oh, yes. Love them, as long as they are positive and that change my life in good way. I'm the kind of person who takes reeeally long time to think about something. If i have to make a decision, well, i think a lot about all pros and cons and budget and...Yes, most decisions i've made i'm glad i did. And for those i'm not...Well, at least i've learned something from them. I think my worst decision was to go in Italy to high school. I came back with chronic stomach pain, severe anxiety and a lot lower self esteem. But this part of my life gave me some good friends, i'm not afraid to go elsewhere and i know how to react in unpredictable situations. 
Now i know better how to decide about something. Right now i'm thinking of taking two years break and than do my master's. In that time i'll be working and taking yoga classes. Than i'll move.
And i know this will be the best part of my life.

Being happy never goes out of style. -Lilly Pulitzer

Tell me, what makes you special?

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Happiness is...

My dear friends!
In our country to get a bachelor's degree you must do some kind of "diploma", thesis, a research on a topic that you like. That's why i'm always talking about "diploma". So finally i decided what my topic would be: The role of yoga in stress management. I'm totally happy and proud of myself i came this far so fast. Now i'm writing the first part of it, and while reading and researching i came across one book that changed my view of..can we say life?

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I mean. I knew our mind could do big steps for out well-being, i'm a psychologist, but here, in this book, there are cases of people with diseases like cancer and aneurysms and the thyroid gland problems that have healed themselves only with thinking of it.
And than i thought about it. And i still am thinking about it. I can't stop thinking how i think. But that's a major problem, especially with my anxiety. But i'm still trying. Please read this book, it's written for us, non-believers. 

What i wanted to write about today what happiness means to me. There's been a chain message on facebook where everyone that got a message should write a post why he's happy about. I got one too, but i've never written a post about that. Today i'll tell you what makes me happy and what happiness is:

- My family, my pets and my boyfriend. So glad i have them and their tremendous support. I don't know what i would do without them.

- Myself, my achievements and those who will come soon (if i'll work hard enough). I'm not skinny, i'm thinking with my own head, i have my own opinion and yes, sometimes i eat cake for breakfast. And that's what i like about myself.

- Happiness is when it rains outside and you can read books all day in cozy clothes and not go out for a sec.

- Happiness is when you try to pet your dogs and he gives you a biiiig kiss on your face.

- Happiness is when your college lessons become more important than sleeping in the morning.

- Happiness is eating a cookie while drinking a cup of coffee.

- Happiness is when you're sad and your mum gives you a big hug.

- Happiness is when you don't see your old friend for a year but you still talk and laugh with her every week so she doesn't forget you.

                    Happiness is being at peace with yourself in this big, crazy world.

What makes you happy?
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