Ragtag Journey

To NaNoWriMo Or Not To NaNoWriMo, That Is The Question

RagtagJourney — Sun, 31 Oct 2021 12:41:58 +0000

Ok, guys, that time of the year is here again… NaNoWriMo. You may be thinking, “what the heck is that?”, well, I’ll tell you. NaNoWriMo is something that happens every year in the month of November for aspiring and established authors. So if you have ever wanted to try your hand at writing a novel, now is your time to shine. You have one month to reach a goal of writing 50,000 words. It may seem like a lot, but when you break it down by day, that’s only about 1,667 words a day. Not too bad right? I have to admit, I have never taken part in NaNoWriMo. Who knows why. I have always loved both reading and writing. I decided long ago that I wanted to be an author… so why never take the leap and participate? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it’s because my anxiety is doing its usual work on me and refusing to let me step even a centimeter out of my comfort zone. From what I gather about NaNoWriMo, you sign up online and you just start writing. Doesn’t seem like something that would be too terrifying. This is the part that gets me, other than the unknown which is always a huge hang-up for me, but hey… I’m working on that…. There are forums, meet-ups that they call “Write-ins”, as well as becoming buddies with someone. All of this is amazing and would really help different people when they get stuck, can’t figure something out, or just need some like-minded people to talk to… I, however, can’t do that. I chose to be a writer for more than one reason. One of which was because I am so insanely introverted that I completely forget the English language when I have to converse with other humans. It’s a problem. People tend to think that I am a mean person, and I really am not. I promise. I just can’t speak like most other people. Anyway, back to NaNoWriMo. So, the point of this post is… should I try to push myself past my social anxiety and insecurities and just go for it? Should I participate? I have something that I have been outlining and drafting for about…… 12 years or so. Now may be the time. Should I do it? Just suck it up? I need some guidance here. Help. Until next time,

The post To NaNoWriMo Or Not To NaNoWriMo, That Is The Question appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Drop-dead Gorgeous DIY Floral Pumpkin Topiary

RagtagJourney — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 15:32:28 +0000

If you are looking for the perfect outdoor fall décor, look no further than this DIY floral pumpkin topiary. It is completely envy-worthy and super easy to make! Read more to find out how to create your own. Fall is my favorite time of year. The weather gets cooler, pumpkin everything starts to come out, and everything just feels amazing. Granted, I live in Florida, so it doesn’t get THAT cold, but it’s at least not 400 degrees most days. So, living in Florida, I don’t get all the traditional fall things that people in northern states do, so I try to find ways to fake it. What is the best way to do that? Fall decorations!! One of the most iconic fall plants that I think of is always mums. Any time I see fall pictures, I always see mums. So of course, I fell in love with them. But I had to figure out how to get them in my yard… Then, I stumbled across a post on Southern Patio. It was a version of a DIY floral pumpkin topiary with mums. Cue the Hallelujah Chorus. I knew immediately I had to make one of these. So that is what I set out to do. DIY Floral Pumpkin Topiary Mine has a couple of differences from the one in the article, but I love it so much! Instead of a whiskey barrel, I decided to get gray pots in various sizes and create more of a fall scene. I really wanted to add a punch with this. I also painted my dollar pumpkins so that way it isn’t Halloween specific. You can just turn them around after Halloween and have a fall decoration with cute painted pumpkins! When I designed this topiary, I knew that I wanted it to have a clear Autumn feeling. I wanted to use Fall-themed plants that were all in the same color scheme. As I was shopping, I basically kept asking myself if I thought I would see this plant in a garden in the Haunted Mansion because that was the feeling I wanted it to have. You can design this however you want. At the end of this post, I will have a list of all the plants I used as well as some other ideas if you want to go for the same kind of look and feel. So let’s get it going! On to the tutorial! Supplies List Here’s What You Need To Make Your DIY Floral Pumpkin Topiary $1 pumpkins from Target, Walmart or some other store Large 20′ pot 6′ garden stake Potting soil Mums Plants of your choice paint Additional supplies 12″, 8″, 6″ pots Drill 3/4″ and 7/8″ drill bit (I used a spade drill bit) Baking soda Tutorial Gather your supplies. I decided to do not only the pumpkin topiary but also 3 other pots that I could put around the topiary to sort of tie everything together and make it feel a little more full. You can do this if you want, or just the DIY floral pumpkin topiary, it is entirely your choice. Drill a hole into the bottom center of each pumpkin. I used a 7/8″ spade drill bit so it has a slightly loose fit so extra water could easily drain out of the bottom. Don’t forget to add a hole with the same drill bit to the bottom of the 20″ pot in the center. You need a place for the stake to go through and into the ground. I used the 3/4″ drill bit on the bottom of my pot and it wasn’t quite big enough, I ended up splitting the pot a bit just to get the stake through, so I suggest going for the larger size. Alternating left and right sides, drill a hole into the top of the pumpkins, where the handle used to be. I used a 3/4″ spade drill bit so the fit was a bit tighter on the stake. Now it is time to paint the pumpkins. For this step, I sprayed a layer of white spray paint over the pumpkins so the orange wasn’t so noticeable. After that dried, I grabbed the purple/gray paint I picked up for this project. Side note here, I decided to go with a purple/gray color to complement both the plants and pots that I picked out. I literally grabbed different paint ships, went to the garden section of Home Depot, and ran around putting paint chips up next to every plant I bought and pot to make sure the colors went well together. I also bought 3 samples of the paint color I picked not knowing how much I would need to paint 5 pumpkins… the answer was 1. I didn’t even use all of that one. As for the paint color, in case you were curious… it was Behr Camelot I then added some baking soda to my paint and painted on two coats, letting each one dry before I moved on. The baking soda creates a ceramic look on the pumpkin when the paint dries, and I absolutely love it! If you don’t know how to do it, here is a video for you, you can thank me later… In the comments. Don’t be shy. Figure out where you want your topiary to be and set your pot there, once you get all of this put together, you won’t be able to move it so put it together where you want it to stay. Also, once you get your pot in the spot you want it, take your stake and push it through the hole you made in the bottom of the pot and push it down at least a foot into the ground. Leave enough space to hold all of your pumpkins, but make sure there is enough in the ground to hold everything still. I live in Florida and we can get some pretty bad storms, especially in the Fall, so I wanted to make sure that thing wasn’t going anywhere. Next step in creating this magical DIY floral pumpkin topiary… adding soil. Get good potting soil for whatever types of plants you choose to get. I accidentally got garden soil and didn’t realize it until after I used a bag and a half, so hopefully, it won’t matter too much. Fingers crossed right? Time to stack those pumpkins! Make sure you start with whichever one you have the most of. If you have three pumpkins with the hole on the left and two with the hole on the right, start with the left. I made that mistake and had to take them all off and start over again. When stacking your pumpkins, alternate them so you get a staggering topsy-turvy look. Then fill those bad boys up with some dirt. Time to plant. Grab those plants and start putting them where you think they look best. I put purple and red plants in the bottom of the large pot so that would fill in and sprawl out as they grew. I wanted it to have an overgrown look to it. The Haunted Mansion was my inspiration for this project. I wanted something that looked creepy, overgrown but still awesome and not like weeds. Fill in your plants as thick as you want them, or leave space for them to grow and fill in throughout the season. Next up… MUMS!! I absolutely love mums. Every Fall I swear to myself that I am going to get some and I never do. Well, guess what?? I got them this year! I planted 5 red mums into my pumpkins, sticking with that same color scheme I had with the other plants. And Voila!! You now have a finished DIY floral pumpkin topiary. And it didn’t even take that long. You can stop here, or keep going like I did… Get those other three pots, fill them up with some dirt, plant your extra plants and you have completed your very own DIY outdoor Fall décor. Enjoy Your DIY Floral Pumpkin Topiary Plant Ideas Don’t forget to pin it for later!! If you are looking for some more cool stuff to make, try these posts here… DIY mini fairy garden wreath, or this one to build your own garden bed! If you have any ideas or are wondering how to make something, leave me a comment and let me know! I would love to figure things out for you. I love to make things so I am up for trying pretty much anything. Until next time,

The post Drop-dead Gorgeous DIY Floral Pumpkin Topiary appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

22 Brilliant Dollar Tree Resin Supplies You Need Today

RagtagJourney — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 00:29:52 +0000

If you work with resin at all or are thinking about giving it a try, you may already know how expensive it can quickly become. That is why I made this list of 22 brilliant dollar tree resin supplies you need today! There is nothing better than finding something amazing for just $1! I don’t know about you, but I love the dollar store. You can really find some great things there for any kind of project you are working on. And the best part? Everything is $1! If you don’t have a Dollar Tree near you, fear not! You can buy stuff online here. You just have to order things in bulk. I went to my local Dollar Tree recently, and noticed that the craft section was an entire aisle! They have so many new things that I can use and I am so excited! Ok, so for the reason we are all here today, resin supplies! You may be wondering what you can possibly use from the dollar store, and if it will really work. I can tell you, I have used most of what is on this list, and it works great. So, let’s get into it! I broke down everything into 3 different categories: storage, tools, and inclusions. These are kind of basic things everyone needs. Storage Hardware Storage Case As with most of the items in this particular group, these cases can help you store all of your smaller objects. You can put different inclusions, small bezels, whatever other little knick-knacks you need to store in these boxes. And only $1! Craft Storage Box The same thing as the last one, these boxes are just a little cuter because they come in blue. They also have some different-sized sections inside. So it is a matter of taste, but either way, you can’t go wrong with these dollar tree resin supplies. Craft and Bead Storage Sure, you can use these for beads if you want… again, use them for any inclusions you have for your resin art. Put glitter in here, or even some paint… that comes in later. Storage Drawers These are a little bit bigger for your bigger objects. You can even store some small finished resin products like keychains or buttons. Whatever you decide to make. Mix and Serve Containers If it were me, I would use these for glitter. That way you can buy large bags of glitter and have an actual container to put it in. Just my opinion. Tools Sanding Sponge We are now into the tools of the trade. Sometimes when you make something out of resin, you have a part that you have to sand… that is where this beauty comes in. Sand Paper This is another option for sanding your pieces. Same deal as the sanding sponge. Tweezers Sometimes you will need some tweezers to either pick something up, dig something out of somewhere, or place something down in just the right area. These tweezers are just what you need in your collection of dollar tree resin supplies. Canvas For those of you that like to do resin pours and stuff like that… could you get any better than a canvas for $1? These would be great to use if you are experimenting with something. That way, you aren’t wasting a ton of money on supplies. Detailing Scissors These are great for cutting off those little bits of resin that run off your piece. I have these, and use them. They are great, and surprisingly sharp for dollar tree scissors. Squeeze Applicator Bottles You could use these to store your paint, or even if you want to put some of your resin in here for precise applications. Now, I haven’t used them for that purpose, so I don’t know how easy it would be to clean out of the bottle and tip. But for $1 it might be worth a try? Paint Palette I actually am super excited about this one. I would use this to either mix small amounts or resin and color, or for just my colorants. Put your resin dye into one of the spots and just take small amounts to color your resin slowly. I need to go back to the store and grab one of these. Metallic Markers I have seen many people use metallic markers for finishing off the sides of their resin pieces, usually coasters. These are a great addition to your dollar tree resin supplies. Emery Boards These are sort of like sand paper for your resin pieces. Emery boards work great for small areas and getting into small spaces. Manicure Kit These scissors in this kit work great for tighter areas because of the slight bend in the tip. The floral case looking thing around the scissors is also an emery board. You get 3 things for $1! What a steal! Shower Curtain Liner You need to cover your work space so it doesn’t get all messed up. This shower curtain liner can help you out. Silicone Spatula If you mix a lot of resin at one time, this spatula is for you. It is silicone and would do great at scraping the bottom and sides of the container you are mixing in to make sure you get everything all mixed together. Measuring Cup This is probably my favorite item on this list on dollar tree resin supplies. It is large, easy to use, and the coating inside the cup makes clean up a breeze. Even if the resin cures inside, it comes out super easy. If you only get one thing from his list, get this. Inclusions Crayola Washable Paint Ill be honest, I’m not sure if this particular paint would work in resin, but for $1, maybe someone can do an experiment and see how it goes? Maybe I’ll do it. Stay tuned. Prang Tempura Paint Here is some more paint options to try out in your resin. You shouldn’t need a lot, depending on how much resin you are coloring. This bottle would last a while. Glitter I love glitter. It is one of my favorite things to add to resin. Everything sparkles so nicely!! So if I can get glitter for a cheap price… sign me up!!! Assorted Floral Another winner here! Flowers look so amazing in resin. And the best part about these? You don’t have to worry about drying flowers. Defintaley worth a try if you need some floral for a resin project. Alright ladies and gents, there we have it. My list of 22 brilliant dollar tree resin supplies you need today. Aside from actual resin and molds, you have plenty of things here to get you started making some stuff. All you need to do is get a little creative with your projects, and the possibilities are endless! What kinds of things are you going to try to make? Can you think of something I didn’t list here? I would love to know about it. Drop a comment and let me know! If you make something from Dollar Tree supplies, take a picture and tag me on Instagram so I can check it out, @ragtagjourney. Don’t forget to follow me while you are over there. If you like to make stuff, check out my tutorial for a quick and easy DIY floral cloche, or this one about a tiny fairy wreath! I also have an Etsy shop and a TikTok, Youtube channel, and a Facebook. It’s all Ragtag Journey, stop by, show some love and let’s get to know each other! I need some friends, so let’s go! Until next time,

The post 22 Brilliant Dollar Tree Resin Supplies You Need Today appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Top 20 Outdoor Summer Décor Items You Need Right Now

RagtagJourney — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 18:39:56 +0000

These are the top 20 outdoor summer décor trends that you need right now. There is something for every budget. From lighting to shelter, lounging, and ways to beat that summer heat, plus a bonus idea for your next outdoor get-together. Outdoor Summer Décor Ideas Everyone wants to have a nice outdoor space. Especially in the summer, when everyone gets together. I don’t know about you, but my outdoor space has seen some better days. That led me to a wild search about different types of outdoor summer décor ideas. Did I want to DIY my outdoor summer décor or just buy something? And what about the different areas of my outdoor space? Not only do I need outdoor summer wall décor, but some summer porch décor too. And we can’t forget about the lighted summer décor. All of this research led me to create this list. These are my top 20 outdoor summer décor items you need right now! Lights Outdoor Lights by Ragtagjourney Lighting is super important for any sort of outdoor summer décor. A lot of the hangouts happen after the sun goes down. Not only do you need some sort of functional lighting, but you also want it to go with your décor. Everything should add something to your space. It doesn’t only have to be functional. It can be pretty too. You have so many options to choose from, depending on what you want your outdoor space to look like. There are lights for your deck or lawn. You can even put lights in your pool! I don’t know about you, but those make me feel like I am in a 1990’s MTV beach house party… I kind of love it. Beat The Heat Beat The Heat by Ragtagjourney Next up, we have a few different ways to beat the heat. This is so important for the summer. We don’t want anyone having a heat stroke. That kind of puts a damper on the festivities. And, living in Florida like I do, we know a thing or two about the heat. Make sure you have some sort of shade. Get a sun sail or an umbrella of some sort. Something that will keep the sun from shining down directly on you… skin cancer isn’t such a fun time either. If you have a pergola or some other outdoor structure, definitely get some curtains. You can close them up when the sun is getting to be a little too much for you. Plus, they look amazing for any type of outdoor summer décor. And don’t forget to get some sort of fan. Airflow is a must. And bonus points if it has a misting feature! Speakers Speakers by Ragtagjourney This is where we can get the party started. Don’t forget to bring the tunes! You don’t even have to have a straight-up speaker just sitting in the middle of your party… You can hide these things now. No one will have any idea where the music is coming from… well, they might if they look for it… but who would do that? You can get a Bluetooth speaker that blends into your landscape if you want. Hide the music among the rocks. You can even get a speaker that looks like a lantern with flames inside of it, or just one that is really colorful if you want to add some color to your party. The options are really endless. Lounging Lounging by Ragtagjourney Time to lounge around. What is one of the best parts of summer? After all of the parties and hanging out? Relaxing. Grab a book, some water, and your favorite snack, and just lounge around. Any of this lounging furniture would be the perfect addition to your outdoor summer yard décor. Grab a hammock, or a hammock chair if you like to sit more than lay down. Cozy up with someone in a round daybed with a canopy, have a cabana boy (or girl) bring you your favorite cocktail… I can dream, can’t I? You can even get an inflatable lounger. Take that thing with you on your next outing. I know I definitely want one. Next time I go to the park, take that thing out, blow it up and relax. Bonus Boho Getaway Boho Getaway by Ragtagjourney If you are still looking for some more ideas, fear not, I have you covered. This is my little bonus for outdoor summer décor. When I think of summer, I think of festivals. And what do you need at those weekend-long festivals? A place to crash every once in a while… AKA: a tent. These tents are super cute, especially if you like that more bohemian style. Put one of these in your backyard with some floor pillows, rugs, and some blankets, and you could have an amazing time watching fireflies or stargazing. It’s super cute and romantic. Even if you are by yourself. Who needs someone else to have some romance in your life?? Not you!! Now that we have come to the end of my list of the top 20 outdoor summer décor items you need right now, get out there and go design your perfect space! These items are a great place to start, and you can easily customize any of them to fit your own personal style. Which of these items are you going to incorporate into your next outdoor space this summer? Let me know in the comments. If you create an awesome space this summer, let me know! Tag me @ragtagjourney on Instagram and show me what you made! I would love to see it. Don’t forget to check out my list of the best bohemian home décor to help you design your inside space as well. Until next time,

The post Top 20 Outdoor Summer Décor Items You Need Right Now appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Quick And Easy DIY Floral Curiosity Cloche

RagtagJourney — Mon, 31 May 2021 15:30:00 +0000

Ever since I saw a floral curiosity cloche at Anthropologie, I became obsessed. I just couldn’t spend the amount of money they wanted for one. Thus, my challenge began: how to make a quick and easy DIY floral curiosity cloche. This is what I came up with. What Is A Cloche Used For? Originally, a cloche was used to cover plants in the garden outdoors. It protected them from the elements while they were starting to establish themselves. Eventually, those cloche’s came inside and started to have some other uses. Today, a cloche can be used for multiple things. They are most commonly used as a décor item. You can fill them with anything from fruit, to flowers, to even insect taxidermy. For real, it’s a thing. You can see some pretty cool ones on Etsy right here, here, and here. Floral Curiosity Cloche Today, I’ll show you how to make a DIY floral curiosity cloche. This will be a cloche, filled with different types of floral. You can use whatever you have lying around from other projects, or go and buy specific flowers if you want. The design is completely up to you. If you wanted, you can use real, dried flowers to create a dried flower cloche. You could use wooden sola flowers or flowers made from paper. I used a mix of both real dried floral, and fake flowers from Michaels and Joann’s. There aren’t really any specific “floral cloche flowers”. You just find anything that strikes your fancy and go with it. As long as it will fit inside of your cloche, give it a try and see if you like how it looks. Supplies List Here’s What You Need To Make Your DIY Floral Curiosity Cloche -Cloche (any size or type) -Floral Foam -Moss -Floral (dried or fake) -E6000 Glue -Hot Glue -Sticks -Extra Bits and Bobs Tutorial Step 1 First, grab a piece of floral foam and put a chunk on your base. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The foam will give the moss a bit of dimension later so things don’t look so flat. It will also give your sticks a floral a place to hold on to. Cut it down so it looks like a little mound. Make sure it will fit inside of the cloche dome when it is placed on top. After you have it cut to perfection, glue that sucker down with some E6000. You don’t want that thing moving for anything. Step 2 Next, grab some sticks. Different shapes, sizes, all that, and shove them into that foam in different places. I just collected some sticks from around my yard and neighborhood. If you can’t find any sticks for whatever reason, you can usually find some at the craft store for a pretty good price. Don’t forget a coupon! Always make sure that after each step, you place the cloche dome on top of the base to make sure that whatever you are putting inside of it actually fits. Always, Always, ALWAYS check. You don’t want to get most of the way done and then realize you have to take the entire thing apart because something is too tall or sticks out too far. Trust me. Step 3 At this point, I grabbed some tiny flowers that I had and glued them on the ends of some of the twigs that were sticking out. I wanted to have a variety of not only the types of floral I was putting in my cloche, but different heights also. Nature doesn’t just stick flowers on the floor, and they aren’t always the same height. Try to mirror this in your floral curiosity cloche. That way, things look a bit more natural. And they look like they are supposed to be there. Step 4 After that, I grabbed 2 fern leaves that I had, but you can use any type of greenery, and I added them to the middle of the arrangement. I wanted to add a bit of height. Make sure you glue them down. You don’t want things moving after you put them right where you want them. Step 5 Next up, we need to fill in the bottom part with flowers. Whatever kind you like, and however many you like. I try to do things in odd numbers because I find it looks better than even numbers most of the time. Just add some flowers, then stop, step back and take a look. If you like it, great! If not, take it out and try again. Don’t forget to put the cloche dome on every once in a while to make sure everything is staying inside. Step 6 Once you have all of your floral inside of your cloche, it’s time to cover the foam with moss. Put down some glue and lay down different pieces of moss until the entire bottom is covered. I kept all of the moss inside the cloche dome, however, I have seen somewhere the moss trails outside of the cloche and it looked really pretty. Just keep in mind, moss is messy and it will leave a mess wherever it is. So if you decide to leave moss outside of the cloche dome, I would make sure your entire floral curiosity cloche is somewhere out of the way and doesn’t get moved around a lot. Step 7 You can stop at the last step, or you can go a step further and add something a little extra to your DIY floral curiosity cloche. I took one of my spread butterflies that I have and decided to add it to one of the sticks that was sticking up in the middle of the floral cloche. You can do the same. If you don’t have a real butterfly that you can put inside, you can print one off of the computer. Just know that the other side will be a blank piece of paper. Or you can buy a butterfly cutout that looks really pretty. I found some at Joann’s that might work for something like this. Don’t forget to pin it for later!! And there you have it. Not only did you learn what a cloche was, but you learned how to make a super quick and easy DIY floral curiosity cloche. It can be a dried floral cloche or one with fake flowers. You can even make one with no flowers at all. These make great gifts for people who like things that are a little bit different and odd. You can even tailor it to a specific person. I personally love making these, and I will most definitely be making more soon! Keep a look out for them on my Instagram and TikTok @ragtagjourney. And if you make one, please let me know. Tag me on one of my social media accounts. I would love to see it and talk to you about it. Let me know if you have any questions also. I don’t have many people to talk to, so I’m looking for some good conversation. If you are looking for some more cool stuff to make, try these posts here… learn to create a mini fairy garden wreath, or create an epic terrarium in under 10 minutes! Until next time,

The post Quick And Easy DIY Floral Curiosity Cloche appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Jungkook’s Workout For 1 Week: You Won’t Believe What Happened

RagtagJourney — Mon, 24 May 2021 15:30:00 +0000

I wanted to get fit, so I started looking for things to do. I came across Jungkook’s workout and decided to give it a shot for a week. This is what happened: My Workout Experience This section won’t be that long, as I don’t have much experience working out. I mainly just dance… and not professionally. I play Just Dance. That’s about it. I’ve been going for walks around my neighborhood lately, but that about sums it up… see not that long right? I spent the last year and a half in horrible pain in my shoulder, neck, and jaw. It stopped me from doing any sort of physical activity, so my fitness level has really gone downhill… not that it was very far up a hill to begin with. But, good news!! At least for me… I have solved my shoulder, neck, and jaw pain (I believe) so it is time to start a workout routine and get healthy! At this point, I am super excited to see what happens with this little challenge I am giving myself. Let’s see how long that lasts. The Workout So I looked all over the place for a good workout routine. I wanted something that would be a bit easy-ish for me to get back into physically, but not something too easy that it wouldn’t really do anything. I have to get rid of this mommy tummy, you know? So, I think I am going to challenge myself to doing Jungkook’s workout from BTS for 1 week. I know it isn’t that long of a time, and you have to really commit to something to see results, but I figured it could be fun to try it for a week and record what happened for all of you lovely people to read about and laugh at my escapade. What is the workout? That is a great question. Here it is: Save This For Later! 20 squats This doesn’t sound that hard. I don’t love squats. But honestly, I would rather do leg work any day rather than working on my arms… which is probably why my arms look the way they do. I have ZERO upper body strength. I mean that so much. 20 pushups And here is what I am dreading. I can’t do a single pushup. I’m not kidding. I never have been able to… I used to be able to bench around 280-300lbs with my legs, no problem… Well, it took a lot of work, I wouldn’t say ‘no problem’, but I can’t do a single pushup. How sad. Even modified pushups are difficult for me. Let’s see how this goes. 20 jump squats I feel like these won’t be too bad. I probably won’t like doing it, but maybe my butt will look fierce after, so lets go! 20 pike pushups I have never tried these, so I don’t know if these will be easier or harder than regular pushups. I am just hoping that my arms don’t give out on me landing me on my face. Because, if I am being honest, that is a 100% possibility. 10 plank I don’t know if this is a 10-second plank, or what else that could possibly mean. So, I am going to do a plank for 10 seconds and that will probably be enough for me anyway. Especially after all of this other stuff I’ll be doing. 20 mountain climbers From what I gather, you are in a plank position and run your legs up to you in this one? I haven’t done them before, but I don’t think I am going to like this at all. But who am I kidding, there is a reason I have this girly figure, and it isn’t because I love working out…. 15 burpees From anyone that workouts out, or has worked out at some point in their life, I feel like this is one of the most hated workouts. At least, that is what I have heard from a ton of people. Am I excited to try this unnecessarily complicated maneuver? Kind of. How long do you think that excitement will last? 20 crunches Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I can do crunches all day… At least I used to be able to. It probably won’t be as easy after all this other foolishness. 20 leg raises I have done these. I do not like these. Enough said. 20 superman I had to look this one up. I had no idea what it could possibly be. It doesn’t look hard, but those are usually the worst ones. I will like the laying on your stomach part, it is the raising your arms and legs thing that will get me. What Happened Monday Ok, so, what I thought would happen did. I tried and failed to get through all the workouts. I made it to the burpees and couldn’t move anymore, so I decided to take a little break, then start at the burpees and finish the exercises. As I am writing this, I am already having a hard time moving my arms… this is going to be interesting. BTW, those jump squats that I thought were going to be “not too bad”, OMG. I was wrong. I was so wrong. Why did I decide to do this to myself? I’m sweating, my body is shaking and I can’t lift my arms… they feel like lead. Why? Tuesday I don’t know if today was harder or easier. I’m going to be honest. On one hand, I got through all of the exercises in one go today… on the other hand, I’m pretty sure I can’t move anymore. Walking is nearly impossible… and lifting my arms, even more so. You should see me trying to drink water… that is a workout in itself. I am really hoping this starts getting easier soon. I am going to have to switch to talk to text soon. My lack of exercise for over a year is really showing. Ow. I can say that I don’t know which I hate more…. Jump squats or mountain climbers. I’ll get back to you on that. Wednesday Ok. I feel like crap. For whatever reason, I could not sleep last night. I figured if I started working out then I would be so tired that I would go into a coma… nope. Maybe that works with normal people, but not me. I could not go to sleep to save my life. And then the random spurts of time that I did sleep, I kept waking up from body pains. I am a mover when I sleep. I can’t stay in one spot for long. And Jesus, Joseph, and Mary does it hurt to move. The workouts today were a bit easier to do. I felt like I could do them a bit faster than I have been doing them. Those push-ups killed me. I am just waiting for the one time my arms go ‘nope’ and I fall flat on my face. It’s coming. I can feel it. Literally. Hopefully by the end of the week I will be killing it, and hopefully I’ll be able to see something from all this work. BTW, my arms are still killing me. I can’t even fully extend them. I tried to get a pot of food out of the fridge and thought I was going to drop it. Everything is becoming a workout. Getting dressed, brushing my hair and teeth… everything. And I am still walking like a newborn giraffe. I wonder if Jungkook went through any of this. I feel like he didn’t. Damn, it hurts. Thursday Body is still shaking when I do anything. I couldn’t get through them all today. My limit today was 10 pushups off the sink because it felt like my arms were going to tear themselves from my shoulders. I was only able to do 12 leg raises and lets just forget that the superman exercise is even a thing. Whose bright idea was it to do this for a week? And what’s more, I don’t know whose genius idea it was to create this terrible workout routine… I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Jungkook. If anyone knows who decided on this, let me know… I just want to talk. Friday Ok, I’ll be honest… I didn’t do it today. I just couldn’t. I felt like crap so I decided today would be my rest day. Don’t worry though, tomorrow and Sunday I am back at it… then we will see if this crazy workout did anything in a week. I doubt it, other than hurting me badly. But, time will tell. Saturday I probably shouldn’t have taken a break from this particular workout. Getting back into it is nearly impossible. Not because it’s hard, but because I just don’t like doing it. At the moment, my arms don’t feel like they are being torn out of my sockets, but maybe that’s just because of the break I took. I don’t do the superman workout anymore… It just doesn’t work for me. I just want to lay there and fall asleep, instead of finishing the workout. Sunday Ok, last day! I’m definitely forcing myself to do this at this point just for this post. If it weren’t for this, I would have found something else to do to work out. Every exercise I do, I keep reminding myself, ‘this is the last time you will have to do this workout from Hell’. I am able to get through everything now, for the most part without feeling like I am going to die. I do have to break a couple of them up into 2 sets of 10, instead of just doing all 20 in one go. But I figure that’s fine, I am still getting 20 of them in. And now….. I’m done!!!!! I haven’t been this happy since I was able to eat real food again after having all of my wisdom teeth taken out. Save This For Later! The Workout Results Measurements: Before: Bust- 35 inches Waist- 30 inches Hips- 40.5 inches After: Bust- 36 inches Waist-27.5 inches Hips- 42 inches Alright, so as for the results… I know that after a week you won’t really see much of a difference. You have to do something for a bit in order to get any real results. But I thought it might be a bit of a cool experiment to see what would happen after a week. There wasn’t a huge change, obviously, but there was a little bit of a change for a week of work I think. My waist went down a couple of inches, so there is that. My hips also went up a couple of inches, so maybe I just forced everything down? I’m fairly certain it was those damn squats and jump squats… maybe I’ll keep those in my routine. As for everything else…. I don’t know if you have gathered or not, but I HATED this workout routine. OMG. I have never been the type of person that liked working out in the traditional sense. It is so boring to me and it just hurts. I prefer to dance or do yoga or something. So in case anyone is interested, no I will not be doing this again, but would I recommend it? Sure. I think if you like to work out, or at least don’t mind it, this routine would be a good one to try. It definitely works the whole body, and once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t take up too much time. It’s a quick way to get in a full-body workout. Remember though: it is always best to check with a doctor before starting any kind of workout routine. Get a professional opinion on this before you start it. I am not a professional, I just did this for fun. Wow, am I glad this is over. If you have anything you want...

The post Jungkook’s Workout For 1 Week: You Won’t Believe What Happened appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Beginner’s Guide: The Perfect Mini Fairy Garden Wreath

RagtagJourney — Mon, 17 May 2021 15:30:00 +0000

Make your own mini fairy garden wreath with this quick and easy tutorial. These tiny little wreaths have been popping up a lot lately and I couldn’t help but jump on the trend. I wanted to try to create something that was tiny and cute, but still had a bit of detail. Mushrooms have also been a pretty big obsession of mine lately, I’m not really sure why, so it only seemed right for me to add them to one of my mini fairy garden wreaths. In all honesty, you can add whatever you want to your wreath. I would just say that if you want to keep it “fairy garden” themed, stick with more natural things. Use flowers, moss, mushrooms, some fairy garden furniture, or even a fairy if you can find one small enough. The world is your oyster…. Let your imagination fly!! Pin This Image For Later!! Here’s What You Need To Make A Mini Fairy Garden Wreath Supplies List 3-inch grapevine wreath moss hot glue gun and glue sticks scissors super glue small dried or silk flowers small crystals or gemstones Time To Make A Mini Fairy Garden Wreath Step 1 Hot glue moss to the bottom half of the wreath, on the front and back. I tried to push the moss into the grapevine wreath a bit so it wouldn’t fall off too much once the wreath was done. Step 2 Get your tiny floral pieces and hot glue them into the moss covered area of the wreath. Make sure you add flowers to both sides of the wreath. That way no matter which way you turn it, you will see flowers. Step 3 Continue to add different types of flowers to fill in the center of the wreath. I used 4 different types of flowers for this wreath. You can use flowers that all have the same color, or even stick to a couple of different colors. It all depends on what you want your wreath to look like in the end. I wanted mine to have a wildflower mini fairy garden feel, so I used a few different types of flowers in different colors. Step 4 Add any finishing touches to your wreath. I added a small blue stone to the middle of my wreath. And voila! You have created your very own mini fairy garden wreath! Place it in your car, hang it on your wall, or use it as a tiny décor item on a shelf. Maybe you can even use it as an altar wreath? There are lots of different things you can do with mini wreaths. Don’t Forget To Pin It For Later!! Let me know what you think. And what would you use your mini fairy garden wreath for? If you make one, let me know! Tag me on Instagram @ragtagjourney, I would love to see what you come up with! Follow me while you are over there, I love making friends… and since I work from home, this is the only way I can make friends, so like, comment, share, all that good stuff, and I’ll see you back here next time! If you are looking for some more cool stuff to make, try these posts here… Make a faux terrarium in under 10 minutes or hand-painted boho feathers. Until next time,

The post Beginner’s Guide: The Perfect Mini Fairy Garden Wreath appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

20 Shocking Activities To Totally Nail Being Active

RagtagJourney — Mon, 10 May 2021 15:30:00 +0000

People often wonder what they can do to get active, but they don’t want to work out in the classical sense. Well, that is exactly why I created this list of 20 shocking activities to totally nail being active! You can play a game, or do another fun activity and burn calories just as well as going to a gym or working out at home. Use your every day activities to burn off that extra donut this morning. I’m not judging, I did the same thing. Why Should You Stay Active? Aside from the obvious reasons of it’s healthy and will help you get into shape… there are other benefits to being active. It will help with your fatigue. I know, I know… you are probably thinking, “How does moving around more help me feel less tired?” The way I figure, it helps you sleep more soundly at night, therefore… less tired during the day!! But I’m no scientist. And of course, it helps to reduce stress. This one reason right here, if nothing else, is the main reason I stay as active as possible. I need as much help as I can reducing stress. If shaking my booty a little will make me happier, bring it on!! And bonus!! It boosts your immune system naturally… which I think everyone needs right now. Thanks COVID!! What If You Hate Working Out? So what do you do if you want to be active, but you hate working out? Don’t worry, there are plenty of things that you can do to be active that don’t require a gym membership or at-home workout equipment. And the best news… there are no squats! Who needs leg day anyway? So lets go! 20 shocking activities to totally nail being active. Alternative Activities To Stay Active Gardening Kicking things off right with something that isn’t only great at keeping you active, but great for the planet too! I don’t know if you have ever tried gardening… but it is hard work! And it is definitely something that you won’t be able to quit, because those little plants lives are depending on you. So get outside, do a little gardening, stay active, and get healthy while you are at it. Work On That Honey-do List This one not only keeps you active, but it also gets all those little projects done that you keep finding excuses for so you don’t have to do them. No more excuses, let’s do this! Get that tool belt, go by Home Depot, and get those projects checked off the list… and watch yourself get healthier too. Build Something Aside from the little projects around the house, you can build something to get that blood flowing. It can be something small, like a birdhouse to go in your new garden, or it can be something bigger, like a bookshelf to go along with that honey-do list you are already working on. You see how these things are all connecting now aren’t you? Using power tools, bending and standing, lifting… all of that is a sneaky way to fit in staying active while you are getting things done, like the boss you are. Cook Something New… From Scratch Ok, this one, we are going to pretend to be a bit Amish here. I have made quite a few things from scratch in my time of cooking. I don’t know why, but it always makes me feel like a BA when I can say I truly made something and people love it. The best thing about making things from scratch? It is a full-blown workout at times. We aren’t doing any premade boxed mixes here… Oh no, we are going back to before the time of ease and convenience… we will be pioneers! Break out all your ingredients, roll up those sleeves, and get ready for the best arm workout of your life. I swear, women back in the day were complete and utter beasts. No wonder kids used to listen to their parents… their moms had to be jacked! But I digress….. Join A Drum Circle Alright, things are starting to get fun in this list of shocking activities to totally nail being active! Even if you are not musically inclined… drum circles are so fun!! I went to one once, and it was absolutely nothing like I imagined. I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe some kind of hippie-dippie scene circa 1960? I don’t know, but it wasn’t like that, I promise. This is something else that you will have so much fun while you are doing it, you won’t even realize that you aren’t only staying active, but you are getting quite the arm workout in. Use The Stairs I feel like this one maybe isn’t that surprising, but I figured it should still be on the list because there may still be someone that hasn’t thought to just do something as simple as using the stairs. And I’m not talking about the lazy stairs, aka the escalator… oh no, the stairs that don’t move. Use those legs, get up those stairs and totally nail being active!!! And good news!! I have heard that taking the stairs actually burns more calories than jogging. So for those of you like me who only run away from murderers and thieves… the stairs are actually worth it! Ride A Bike I actually love bike riding. I never feel like I am working out, but I definitely feel it later. But in a good way. So go forth, grab a bike, and be active. And even if it is a bit hot outside, riding a bike gets you a nice breeze so it doesn’t feel too bad. Go Roller Skating/Blading And going right along with riding a bike, go roller skating/blading. I honestly think I love this more than riding a bike, I’m not really sure why. And if you hate leg day like, well… every other human ever… this is a great alternative to those stupid squats and lunges. Fun fact for you… I absolutely CAN NOT skate… I have to rollerblade. I don’t know why, or how that makes sense, but if I put on roller skates, I end up looking like Bambi on ice. Not a pretty sight. Hiking I love hiking. And this is a real full-body workout. Or it can be, depending on where you are hiking, and how intense you go at it. The beauty about hiking is it can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. And at the end of your hike, there is usually something awesome to see or do, like a waterfall, or a great field, or beach. Set a destination, and just go for it. Don’t forget lots of water and some snacks too… Oh and bug spray! Go For A Walk This one ties in with the last, but if you want to stay active, just go for a walk. Some people think you have to do something really vigorous to workout… not true. Just get up and go. What is the alternative? Sitting on the couch continuing to binge watch that show? Nope, even if you are walking slowly, you are already doing laps around the people just chilling on the couch. So go for it! Head to the mall if you want some air conditioning and walk around. You got this! Play With Your Kids/Pets These next few all kind of tie together with this one, but I figure I would break them down and give you some specific ideas. But for this one, play around with your kids/pets. Wrestle, get down on the ground and play. Play tag, run around, have a great time! I promise, you won’t even notice that you are getting in a workout. Play Just Dance This game is in my nightly routine. I get my son, turn on just dance, and we play for at least an hour. It is so much fun, and we get some real quality time in together. Granted, most nights it turns into him just watching me play, but hey… I am nailing it! The Floor Is Lava I don’t know if you played this game as a kid, but you have to have some serious moves and core strength to play. Grab some pillows, furniture, whatever you want and STAY OFF THE FLOOR!! There are other versions to this game, depending on if there are kids involved or not… There is a very involved version with drinking from the show “New Girl” if you are interested… the rules are here. Only if you are over 21 though… if you are under 21, alcohol is crap. Don’t drink. Go have some fun. Red Rover Game Time to work on those legs, core, and arms… throw in some cardio from running and you have, red rover! Grab some family, or friends once all this COVID stuff is done, and hold hands, get friendly… use hand sanitizer. Anyway, make two lines, call over someone from the opposite line, and they have to break through your arms… I’ll never let go, Jack!! Its fun, you are being active, everyone wins. Hide and Seek Not many things were as fun as hide and seek when you were a kid. Running, hiding, more running… I think you see where I am going with this. There is running involved. HOWEVER! You don’t notice it because you are playing a game. So, fear not, this is a sneaky way to get in that cardio. You can always change it up too, there are different ways to play hide and seek so you don’t have to play the same way every time. Do it cops and robbers style, or the traditional way. Team up, or mix it with a game of freeze tag. The possibilities are endless, and so is the fun. Jump On A Trampoline Next up on our list of 20 shocking activities to totally nail being active, we have the tried and true, trampoline. These aren’t just for kids anymore. Adults are jumping around on these death traps just as much as the kids now. I have even seen people play dodgeball while jumping on trampolines… Or playing a type of basketball… either way, you can get in a crazy awesome workout and have fun all at the same time. And isn’t that the point of this list? So give it a shot. And don’t get hurt. Timed Scavenger Hunt Last Christmas, my family got together and did a scavenger hunt. It was timed, and we had to find a list of things throughout our neighborhood, take pics and bring them back. Not only was it incredibly fun, but I found myself actually running to get everything in the time we had. By the next day, I was so sore, so something was worked out during that game. Find a scavenger hunt online, set a time limit, and go! You will find that you are having a blast and you may even find yourself running around like I did. Create An Obstacle Course I always loved doing this as a kid, and I feel like it could be even better now that I am an adult. Do it inside, do it outside, it doesn’t matter. Just grab a bunch of stuff and let your imagination run wild. Create a course that has you jumping, climbing, crawling, sneaking… anything and everything to get from one point to another. Ready to make it harder? Set a timer. See who can finish it the fastest. Lets go! Time for some American Ninja Warrior stuff!! Play Mini-golf… With A Twist One time, while I was in Orlando, we went to this indoor glow-in-the-dark mini-golf place. Sounds basic right? Wrong! They had different rules for each hole. On one of them, you had to use your club like a cue stick. That requires getting down on the floor, or at least close to it....

The post 20 Shocking Activities To Totally Nail Being Active appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

Social Anxiety Ruined My First Professional Massage

RagtagJourney — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 14:19:13 +0000

Alright my lovelies, for today’s magical journey through my social anxiety, we will see how that social anxiety ruined my first professional massage. Come along with me. My Social Anxiety Ok, so I am over 30 and I have never had a professional massage. I feel like that really isn’t that weird, but thought I’d mention it. Anyway… a little backstory, for over a year I have had these horrible shoulder/neck/jaw pains that have felt like I went head-to-head with an MMA fighter, and desperately lost. My jaw would throb for seemingly no reason at all. I literally couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t workout, lift anything, do anything that would piss off those muscles. So one thing led to another and I find my self with a massage appointment. Side question: Who thought it was a good idea to have strangers oil you up and rub your body in the first place? Asking for a friend… Aside from that, I knew from the get-go that this was a terrible idea. It’s one of those things that I say I want to do, but I never actually do it in real life… for a reason!! One of those, “better in theory” kinds of things. Apparently, my husband didn’t get this memo and decided to make me an appointment to surprise me. Which I know is super sweet and he was only trying to help me, but the moment he told me… panic mode set in. For anyone that doesn’t have social anxiety, or is an extroverted person, this may not make much sense. The best way I can describe the feeling is when you have that dream that you are in school, you know you are supposed to be there, but you have never seen this class in your life. Everyone is acting like it’s a normal day, you have to move from class to class, but you have no clue what you have next or even where it is. You try to keep it together, try to act like you know what you are doing, but on the inside, you are in turmoil. Panic envelops you and consumes you… On top of that, there are tests you have to take in these classes that you have never been to a day in your life. More panic. Like that…. Completely out of control. So back to the story… leading up to the appointment, I seemed ok. Then, the day of the appointment got here. Like most people, when I get stressed out, my body becomes very tense. I get so tense that my muscles knot up and start to feel like rocks. Probably not very healthy, but c’est la vie!! Now I have my usual tense body, and my newly stressed out tense muscles on top of those, all mixing together to create this massive muscular hell. I know I don’t look like one, but when my muscles get like that, I feel like one of those really ripped bodybuilders. The Journey Begins So I am driving to the appointment and trying to keep from talking myself out of it. Wondering what kind of excuse I could come up with that would justify me not going to this appointment. Obviously, I failed at coming up with anything good… I get there, get through the lobby, sign in, and then I have to do paperwork. They take me into this little cubby hole behind some doors to fill out my info. The “relaxing” music is already going, and for some reason, it is having the opposite effect on me. Each high-pitched squeal coming from the girl’s mouth is setting me more and more on edge. BUT, I power through!! Go me. Paperwork is now done, and I feel like I am walking to my doom… In reality, I am headed to the massage room where I now have to undress and lay down on this table. I have so many questions at this point. “What do I do about my mask?” “How undressed should I get?” “Is there going to be a lot of talking at this point?” “Should I say something to her, or just wait for her to ask me a question?” “What exactly goes into a full body massage?” “Is she going to rub my butt? Do they lift the blanket for that?” Then she starts talking to me about what I filled out on the paperwork and pulls me out of my never-ending inner monologue. We talk about the areas I need the most help in, areas to avoid (my feet), all that. She leaves, I undress, get on the table, nervous as anything. I try to figure out the best place to lay. It is at this point that I realize my small head/face is going to have a problem here. Try to picture this. I have a mask on, you know… coronavirus and all that. My small face doesn’t quite fit into the opening in the table. My head keeps basically falling into the hole. So I have to try and scoot up so more of my forehead is resting on the top part of this donut. Is this where I’m supposed to be? I dunno. But I go with it because at least my head isn’t dangling through the donut. She knocks on the door to let me know she is back… at this point, I am wondering, do I answer vocally? Or do I just let her assume that since I didn’t say ‘wait’ or anything that it is ok to come in… obviously I didn’t say anything and just waited until she came in… the less I say, the better. The Massage Starts She starts the massage. Now that we have made it to this point, I have new fears that start kicking in. I don’t know how often something like this has happened to anyone else but did you ever take a test in school, for example, and everything is super amazingly quiet… not a sound, then all of a sudden, through no fault of your own, your stomach decides to let out the most horrifically loud scream, as if you have just returned from a year-long survival game show and haven’t seen food for at least that long? And it doesn’t just do it once, oh no. Once your stomach has the attention of everyone in the surrounding area, it feels the need to be an overachiever and keep yelling so not only the people around you can hear it, your stomach wants to make sure that people in another room, on the other side of the school come into the room where you are to make sure that everything is ok. And no squirming, begging, pleading, or bargaining can keep it quiet… Well anyway, that fear kicked in. How embarrassed would I be if my stomach started to sing the song of its people right now?? Which led to the thought of, “Oh God, please don’t let me have to fart.” Now I am even more stressed out. I’m not even paying attention to the relaxation I’m supposed to be having right now. I then realize, she just asked me a question. But what the hell was it? I still don’t know. Some more time passes and she is now up above my head. She starts focusing on my shoulders, the key reason I am here in the first place. She starts telling me about how tense I am… Thank you, madam. I’m pretty sure I told you how tense I was, hence my presence here. Now as I said before, I have never had a massage, so I don’t know how these things usually go, but I always imagined that you just went in, they rub-a-dub-dubbed you and you left. I didn’t know that there was this much talking involved. If anyone knows anything about me, talking to people I don’t know is super stressful for me. I seem to forget the human language and just nod and smile a lot. I look pretty dumb usually, but if I don’t have someone to carry the conversation, it is just going to be a lot of awkward silences for all parties involved. At least until I become comfortable enough to talk to you. Well, I am laying face down on a table, I can’t smile and nod. I have to respond. Jesus take the wheel. So, she is at my head, rubbing my shoulders and back and she starts pressing down from my neck towards around the middle of my back, over and over again… this wouldn’t have been a problem if my face was a normal human size and fit into the aforementioned donut. Every push is forcing my face further and further into this hole. I am trying to keep it up, which is straining my neck. Do I say something? Absolutely not. That would be ridiculous. I don’t know if you can picture what is happening here, but remember I have a mask on. I am also receiving a free facelift from this donut, all while this mask is being pulled so tight around my face that I know my nose is going to be flatter when I leave this place. We continue. She moves on down, rubs rubs rubs, asking questions along the way. I do my best to answer, but honestly… I’m just trying to find some form of relaxation in this hell hole I have found myself in. She makes it to this point around my legs, where for whatever reason, she decides to start hitting them. I’m not talking about some light love taps… Oh no. She is wailing on my legs, with what felt like a dead fish… I dunno what was really going on back there, but I just imagined her picking up some large fish and repeatedly dropping it on my legs. You can imagine how this sudden visual along with the repeated and unexpected hitting could cause a fit of laughter. I couldn’t help myself at this point. This was such a ridiculous situation, and now this… I couldn’t stop laughing. But did I laugh out loud? Of course not. I kept it inside as much as I could which, you guessed it, made it worse!! I tried to stop my body from shaking with laughter, I don’t know how successful I was though. Introducing Stones From Mount Doom So she eventually stopped and we moved on to the next part of this magical journey. That’s right, just when you thought we were done… we add HOT STONES!! Apparently, when my husband was setting up this once-in-a-lifetime experience, he told them my issues and they talked him into adding on a hot stone massage. Boy oh boy. She gets these things out and places them on my back and asks how the temperature is. Side note: I am extremely sensitive to hot and cold… my skin, my teeth, all of it. Keep that in mind. So she asks how the temperature is as she is placing them on my back. I said it was fine, because the 1.2 seconds it was on my back, it seemed fine. At some point, during me saying it was fine and her beginning to massage me with them, someone decided to turn the heat up on these damn things to a million degrees. I don’t know where she had these things stored, but it felt like she had just grabbed some stones out of Mount Doom and decided to burn away every sin I had ever committed with them. And before you ask, no I didn’t say anything… I just took it. Stupid, I know, but that basically sums me up as a person. She rubbed my back for a while with them, and then I feel like I start getting used to the heat, so maybe the heat will loosen up all the tension I got just from coming to this damn...

The post Social Anxiety Ruined My First Professional Massage appeared first on Ragtag Journey.

The Best Bohemian Home Decor Ideas Under $25

RagtagJourney — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 15:00:00 +0000

Do you love bohemian style as much as I do? There is something so calming about being around natural elements. I just love that style and energy. So I decided to find some of the best bohemian home décor ideas under $25 on Amazon. You read that right… everything is under $25!! Just because something looks awesome, that doesn’t mean we have to spend an arm and a leg for it right? What is Bohemian Style? So what exactly is bohemian style? Well that can be a complicated question… it varies. You have the “true bohemian” kind of style that is very colorful, very loud, lots of stuff, but still comfy and cozy. And then you have a more “bohemian chic” type of style that has more muted tones of color, much more minimalist, and basic. I tend to lean more towards bohemian chic for how I decorate, but I love both styles and see how they can fit in different places. It all really just depends on your own personal taste. Bohemian style is definitely geared more towards the creative and nomadic type of person. Which is probably why I feel so drawn to it, honestly. It’s very free and kind of wistful. If you are the type of person that doesn’t like a lot of colors, of stuff, or nature for that matter… this style is probably not for you. This is not a modern or contemporary type of space by any means. You need lots of different types of patterns and textures to get the full bohemian effect. Layering is key! There are a lot of warm colors and jewel tones that go with this style. It feels more like a “collection” type of style. Trinkets, heirlooms… stuff like that. The bet word I could use to describe this style would probably be… eclectic. There aren’t really any “rules” you have to follow with this style. That’s why it’s so awesome. You can be your creative awesome self and really go for it. And no two true bohemian-style rooms will look the same. Also, if you like antique items, going antiquing or thrifting, or going to flea markets… this style is definitely for you! Give it a shot. Bohemian Home Décor For specific types of things for your bohemian home décor, I would stick with warm-toned items. Especially for larger items. Keep things natural, so wood, rattan, cane, wicker… stuff like that. Also, if you like things that are more based on comfort rather than “style”, then this is perfect for you. Bohemian home décor should always be comfortable. For lighting, bohemian style is more ambient rather than intense. My favorite is lanterns and string lights. And of course… don’t forget… PLANTS!! No bohemian room is complete without some house plants! Don’t worry… if you want some house plants, but don’t know where to start, I got you covered! I have a post about the best house plants for purifying the air as well as the best houseplants for beginners. Blankets So let’s get into it. The first item on this list of the best bohemian home décor ideas under $25 is… blankets. But what kinds of blankets should you pick? If you remember what I said earlier… the comfier, the better for anything bohemian inspired. I would personally go for something chunky, soft and cozy. You can also use blankets that have a pop of color, or a bunch of different colors. Don’t be afraid to mix and match textures and patterns. It’s boho, that’s the point. Here are some of my favorites that I found on Amazon. Boho Inspired Blankets by Ragtagjourney LOCHAS Deluxe Super Soft Fluffy Shaggy Home Decor Boho Throw Blanket Decorative Light Weight 100% Cotton Bourina Green Throw Blanket Raajsee Blue Orange Mandala Round Beach Tapestry LOMAO Flannel Blanket with Pompom Fringe Macrame I found some really cute macrame things on Amazon under $25, and I was really surprised. Macrame is a pretty big staple in bohemian home décor. And I am living for it. Honestly, before I really got into the whole “boho scene”, I really didn’t like macrame. Something about it reminded me of a grandmother’s house… maybe it had something to do with doilies… I don’t know. The bigger mystery here is why it reminded me of a grandmother’s house when neither of my grandmothers had anything like that… Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, I love it now. It really grew on me. It was one of those things that the more I saw it, the more I liked it… now I am a bit obsessed with the look of it. You can also use macrame for so many different things, all over the house. It is super versatile. Here are a few things I found, check them out and let me know what you think about them. Which one is your favorite? Or have you found something even cuter under $25?? I would love to know. Boho Inspired Macrame by Ragtagjourney Mkono Hanging Photo Display ANROYE Macrame Boho Wall Hanging Decor Mkono Macrame Wall Hanging Mirror Boho Geometric Decorative Mirror Dremisland Macrame Woven Wall Hanging Moon Dream Catcher Mkono 2 Pcs Macrame Wall Hanging Art Storage Ahh storage, one of my eternal loves. I am probably one of the most organized unorganized people you will ever meet. I spend way more time on Pinterest dreaming about different organization items and ways to organize things than I do actually organizing anything in real life…. HOWEVER!! I do plan on organizing my closet and craft supplies one of these days, and my OCD requires me to have everything match. Thus we find ourselves looking for bohemian-inspired organizational items, to match my dream bohemian paradise of a room. And it is all under $25!! Boho Inspired Storage by Ragtagjourney Mason Jar Bathroom Accessories Set MyGift 3-Piece Wall-Mounted Rustic Wood & Gold Tone Metal Jewelry Organizers HOME SMILE Ceramic Aloe Ring Holder BlueMake Woven Seagrass Belly Basket BlueMake Tassel Macrame Woven Seagrass Belly Basket for Storage Wall Art No bohemian themed room would be complete without a gallery wall somewhere. It can be photos, paintings, pressed flowers and leaves… whatever you want. This is another area where you get to let your creative juices flow! And the best part about the bohemian style is that it’s so eclectic and carefree. It’s a hodge-podge of different things all smushed together. Have different styles of frames with different colors? Not a problem. Do you also have some paintings with a couple of photos and a clock, not to mention the faux taxidermy you got from last weekend’s flea market? Also, not a problem… stick all that stuff together to create an epic gallery wall!! Here are a few ideas for you to get some inspiration. Boho Inspired Wall Art by Ragtagjourney Mkono Moon Phase Wall Hanging Moon Garland Botanical Plant Wall Art Prints Baisuart Wall Art Decor 3 Pieces Framed Canvas Prints Haus and Hues Boho Prints Neutral Wall Art – Set of 6 Boho Art Prints Spiritual Occult Prints House Plants And the final piece of bohemian home décor ideas under $25 is……. house plants!! This has been a more recent obsession of mine. It was something else that I really hated. I hated seeing house plants all over the place, it just looked so old. Then, something happened and I started looking at different bohemian-inspired rooms that were just filled with house plants, and again, the more I saw it, the more I fell in love. Now, I am not allowed to walk through a garden center at any store without adult supervision… and without my wallet. I can’t get enough of the amazing house plants that are available. They look so amazing, and you can bring nature inside. So go! Create that magical oasis to calm your mind and spirit right in your own home. Let me get you started with some ideas… Boho Inspired House Plants by Ragtagjourney Mkono Cement Succulent Planter Set of 3 Viverie Faux Succulents in White Ceramic Pots Office Decor for Women LIVING LEGEND All Natural Rabbit Tail Grass Bosslandy Babys Breath Fabric Cloth Artificial Flowers Don’t forget to pin this for later!! So we did it! We successfully got through a roundup of the best bohemian home décor ideas under $25. What do you think of these items I picked out? Have you used any of them? Or do you have any other ideas to create an awesome bohemian space? Also, if there is anything you guys want me to try out, or review… just drop a comment and let me know. I love trying out new things and finding awesome new ideas for stuff. So my lovelies.. Until next time,

The post The Best Bohemian Home Decor Ideas Under $25 appeared first on Ragtag Journey.