dear diary,

It's kind of weird going from writing a blog post twice a week, to barely scraping one. I don't even have a good excuse for not pushing myself to write. I know I feel good when I write blog posts. I have loads of ideas constantly passing through my head about things to write about, and yet, after spending 8 hours behind a computer during work, the last thing I want to do when I get home...is sit behind a computer.

Yet, that's what I'm doing right now. I always miss writing. It's just such a liberating feeling. Especially these diary posts. I feel like I'm not holding anything back with you guys when I write diary posts. They're a lot less structured compared to my other posts. That, and a lot more personal.

Summer's officially over. Well technically not official until September 22nd, but you get what I mean. The moment Labor day comes around, Summer is basically over. It's always a love/hate feeling about it. I always feel the happiest and the most free during the summer.

I feel like I have the most fun, spending my days lounging in sun, going to the pool and the beach. Walking around New York City without hundreds of layers on.

It's honestly the best.

Not that I don't like the fall. The fall has my favorite holiday in the whole wide world (cough cough** Halloween). I love fall fashion and all the activities that fall brings.

I guess while I enjoy the fall, it leaves me sad that a long winter awaits afterwards.

On the bright side, I've been in a much better mood about life recently. I had an amazing conversation with one of my friends and it's stuck with me. I spoke about it briefly in this post. She probably doesn't realize how important that conversation was for me, but it's really changed my outlook on life.

I've just felt so much more sure of myself and who I am. It's given me the motivation to keep building my clothing (Lost in Aster) store up. I know it's going to succeed. I can't tell you how I know this information, but I know it. I've already come so far, and we've grown so much.

I have the support of my friends and family which I love.

It's not only in terms of my business ventures though, I just genuinely feel happy. Everything is going so...right in my life. I've been going on a few mini trips, which keeps my travel bug tame. I've been spending time with my favorite people in the world. I've been reading again, which always feels great.

and...I feel amazing. Life's just working out for me.

I feel like when I write these posts, there's always something wrong going on in my life. Well...that's not necessarily true, but that's how it sometimes feels like.

While there's always room for improvement, I'm more than content to be where I'm at.

While I'm content, I feel driven and motivated to keep moving forward in life. To keep bettering myself in all ways.

I've gotten back into painting. Watercolor to be precise. I'm not the best at it, but my sister's boyfriend got me a watercolor book for Christmas last year. I have just gotten around to looking at it thoroughly, and I feel like I've learned quite a bit! Not only do I really enjoy painting, it's also extremely calming.

When I'm feeling super anxious, I love to sit down and paint whatever I feel like. It doesn't always look nice, but I always feel better.

I say this every time after writing a post, but I am going to try to be more consistent. I always forget how good I feel until I actually sit down and write! I'll talk to you all soon (promise I'll be back next Tuesday)!

Sending you all love, strength, and positivity

-melina xxx