What my parents taught me.

You get back exactly what you put into things.

You want good grades?

Turn in good work.

You want a healthy relationship?

Be the most healthy person you can be, and if that’s not enough to make it work, the relationship isn’t worth it anyway.

You want a promotion/accolades at work?

Produce excellent work efficiently and never do just enough to fly under the radar.

You want loyal friends?

Be a friendly person to them.

You want to spend money on yourself?

You have to make that money first.

You want to lose weight?

You have to put some serious effort into it, much as it may suck and much as you may hate every single minute.

You want to be well-respected?

You have to treat everyone politely and with decency, no matter how much you may not want to.

You want people to smile at you on the street?

You better smile at them first.

You cannot expect the universe to fulfill your every wish in exchange for complacency and wishful thinking. It’s become unfashionable to pursue a successful existence through hard work—even if that hard work is not your “passion.” Our generation has seen people get lucky doing what they are passionate about. What they don’t see is the drive, hard work, late nights and general crap that exists behind it. “Living the dream” is not so apt a description as “working the dream.” No one is going to hand you the perfect life without a catch.

As a future parent, I hope to show my children the same thing that my parents told me: hard work and dedication pay off every time. It may not be immediate, but you will reap the rewards of never giving less than you are capable of.

As I turn 23 and my marriage reaches its one-year anniversary, I have never been more proud of my husband, my family and myself.

Love you all and happy Thursday.

xoxo,

Jackie

Found!

anniehinton:

It’s really too bad these A.P.C. sandals are $400. I’d love an orange leather high heeled sandal for Spring/Summer.

Annie,

Check out some of these orange sandals for less than half the price:

(From left to right, clockwise)

• GB “Seaside”, $80
• Aldo “Gettis”, $100
• Charles David “Joli”, $90
• Nine West “Elkie”, $88

A few of these orange shades are more burnt orange or coral, but the pair on the upper left is more a bright orange like the A.P.C. pair you posted.

mariusmuscalu asked: where can I find your cool theme ? :)

My theme is called Journalism and it was designed by SomethingLike.

Zoe Saldana = always stunning.

hautelikecouture:

Her stylist gets a million gold stars for Zoe’s appearances over the past year.

ldclaxton asked: I wore this (http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab123/lydiaclaxton/n648778859_476633_9366.jpg) dress to prom a few years ago and I still fit in it & I just love it so much I can't bring myself to sell it but I also have nowhere to wear it to. Is there any way to dress it down? I've been thinking about getting it taken up but I'm not sure if I should.. Help!

Don’t get it taken up! I love the length and it looks great on you!

If you want to dress it down, here’s what I’d do:

• Add a casual cardigan or shrug
• Wear a long necklace
• Throw on some sandals or flip-flops

P.S. I love that you chose to wear something like this for your prom a few years ago. Clearly your sense of style was ahead of its time and now you can look back on your pictures and breathe a sigh of relief that you did not show up in some satin contraption. :)

$15!

thecooknook:

Have you ever heard of the 15 dollar store? It is a magical internet place where everything is $15.

Like:

this plaid dress

and

this floral dress with leopard trim

and

this plaid button down shirtdress

and

this sequin and satin white tee

and

this very Olsen-twinish shrug

and

these herring bone t-strap peep toes

and

these red leather wedges.

Now you know.

Those red wedges will be mine!