What I’m Talking About: Lady Gaga Living with PTSD

Lady Gaga just shared that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Although people may seem fine, underneath they may not be. A smile can truly make a persons day, so why not try to make it a goal of yours. Lady Gaga also had launched Born This Way Foundation in 2012 to “researching, learning and developing programs…connecting young people in safe ways and empowering them with the skills and opportunities that will inspire them to create a kinder and braver world.” (via Born This Way Foundation)

“One way to help people that have trauma is to inject them with as many positive thoughts as possible,” she said. “What’s really important to remind kids that are suffering form traumatic experience or abandonment is to remind them that they’re not alone and that they’re loved.” (via Allure)

She uses her trauma to connect to other that have experienced trauma as well. This is yet another reminder to be kind to one another. She is brave and courageous to talk about her mental illness and voice the importance of helping one another.

Life Changer Hack: Make a Home Festive in Less than One Hour and under $50

T-minus one week until Christmas everyone! If you’re to busy to decorate your home ahead of time for the holidays, follow these few tips that Chatelaine lists that are quick and inexpensive. There many options for easy and cute decorating that can give your place that little extra holiday feeling in a knick of time. If you are last-minute, tend to stress over decorations or don’t have the time to put much effort into it, here are a few tips that I think will be helpful:

Use the greenery outside of your home to your advantage! Simply go outside and bring in some pinecones, cedar or spruce indoors with you. The smell alone of fresh greenery truly emits the holiday season. There are many ways to decorate with this, use it as a centrepiece along with some candles, or place them in a decorative bowl or vase.
There always seems to be an abundance of ornaments left over after decorating the Christmas tree. Don’t put them away just yet! Place the extras in a vase or use them as a decorative name holder on the dinner table! This tip saves time and money as you can use what you already have!
Candy canes go hand in hand with the holiday season. Inexpensive and adorable, hang some on stair spindles or along side the cutlery on the dinner table. Make a game out of it; simply remember how many candy canes you decorate with and have the guests guess how many you have put out. The closest wins!
Fill up the house with the smell of Christmas by putting cinnamon sticks, cloves and apples to a simmer. Nothing brings the family together like the smell of the holidays.
Another tip for using what you already have at your disposal, is to use extra ribbon that you haven’t use towards wrapping your gifts. Tie bows on champagne flutes and on the back of chairs for some extra flare!

People Doing Good: Thinx Merch

Thinx is a brand that is breaking the taboo of having a period since January 2014. They have just launched merchandise that lets people show that they are not ashamed of their vagina and to put bluntly the bleeding that comes from it. You may have heard of this company from suggestive and direct ads that address the real and not idealized versions of periods.

“There’s a 1 in 12 chance that you are on your period right now, but yet we rarely discuss menstruation outside of whispers from woman to woman. Today we change this.” (via Allure)

This is so important as woman should not be afraid to talk about this but spread the awareness to make it normalized instead of a suppressed and off limits topic of discussion.