How To Feel More Beautiful

Today we're doing something a little bit different here on Cake After Midnight and I've got a great guest post comin' at ya from my beautiful & lovely friend Emma Johnson of Emma J. Agency. So let's dive in!

Answer me this: When you look in the mirror, how do you see yourself? 

This is not a topic of vanity. 

Research suggests that how we think affects how we feel. This may not be news to you, but do you actually apply this to yourself? It also suggests that having negative thoughts about ourselves can cause us physical and mental harm. 

What to Expect from a Tarot Reading

I’ve always taken an interest in the metaphysical/mystical, ever since I can remember. We had a Ouiji board growing up, but like most kids messing around with that stuff (word of warning: DON’T), we just used it for asking silly things like if our crush was into us, and then we would all scream with excitement as we took turns yelling over each other, “You’re moving it! Ok, really guys, who’s moving it? I’m not doing it!” 

I was also super into faeries as a kid and collected all things fae – books (this Suza Scalora photography collection moved me so much as a teen), figurines, and I eventually graduated to this beautiful faerie oracle deck. I had no idea really what I was doing or how to use it, but I found the idea alluring – plus, you can’t deny the art is serene and ethereal (quick side note: a tarot deck is much more structured and has ancient roots, whereas an oracle deck can take many forms and there is no set number of cards or a specific set of rules it has to follow). Some of my favorite decks are the faerie deck and the self-care oracle deck, which I use on a daily basis (it’s all positive cards that tell you different self-care things, like meditate, do yoga, take a bath, etc.)

The Ultimate Spooky Season Playlist

I'm a huge fan of music. There have been so many times where I feel like music literally saved my life. I use it to express myself/listen to whatever I may be feeling at the moment, get me super pumped for a workout (or chores, ugh!), or turn up the volume as high as it will go, and jam out on my commute to work. One of my favorite things has always been creating mixtapes/CDs. That's kind of a thing of the past now (though if you're like me, you still buy, collect, and regularly play CDs), so the next best thing has become playlists. I love using Spotify to curate different playlists to fuel my moods. I also love creating individualized playlists for friends. One of my bridesmaids gifts (ahem, years ago I might add) was a unique playlist for each friend, created specifically just for them, of songs that either reminded me of them or spoke to our friendship on some level (so, as you can imagine given my age, most of those mixes had a ton of Spice Girls, Backstreet & Britney).

Halloween is no exception. There are so many great songs out there that inspire that spooky mood, even outside of your typical "Monster Mash" type songs. So I've created the perfect playlist for October that's sure to get you in the spirit (but honestly, I listen to this year round. The first song is legit a banger).