I actually got a full night of good sleep, which is apparently something my body doesn't know how to process anymore, so I woke up hours before my alarm thinking "are we suuuuure we're not supposed to be doing something right now?" So here we are, with a cup of coffee and an opportunity to fire out a blog live, which we know is my favorite because it's just an excuse to talk about all the random things that don't quite deserve their own post.
Up first: Stranger Things. I've never seen an episode, or really even been interested in it, but now I 100000% get the obsession. A weekend of binge-watching the first (and part of the second) season and I'm hooked. It's so good!
I've started saying a mantra with Jack every morning before school. We say, "I am strong, I am brave, I am kind, I am going to have a great day!" Sometimes he repeats it back to me and I could absolutely melt into a puddle. But also sometimes I get the first three words out and he says, "No thank you, please." You win some, you lose some.
I've mentioned before that August is my favorite because it's still summering so hard, but fall is riiiiight there. I love summer, I love fall, and I love looking forward to things. So this is my jam. Some things I'm currently looking forward to about fall: Pumpkin everything (duh), cute sweaters (even though I'll have to wear them with shorts, because Florida), and fall scented candles. What about you?
Speaking of fall, I've started a fall section on my amazon store. I'm a summer girl through and through, but fall fashion has my heart.
And speaking of it still being summer, it has been waaaay too hot to use the gym stuff in the garage, so I've been doing (indoor) at home workouts. My favorites are anything by Blogilates and Yoga With Adrienne. If you love any at home workouts, drop them in the comments so I can give them a try while I wait for Florida to cool down just a tiny bit.
My coffee needs a refill so this seems like a good place to land for the day. I hope you have the best Monday ever. Like I'm about to tell Jack: You are strong, you are brave, you are kind, you are going to have a great day!"
Good morning! Sometimes, when I'm dealing with writer's block and have no idea what to write next (like after a deep and heavy post like Wednesday's), I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and just type out a post in live-time. Welcome!
Who else had a long weekend? Anyone else spend it feeling a little under the weather? My sinus infection has hung around and I am OVER IT. On the fourth, I took NyQuil and went to bed at six thirty and then proceeded to sleep eleven hours. ELEVEN. Safe to say I woke up feeling much better and like I've found the cure-all to anything in life: NyQuil, sleep, and some good books.
Speaking of books, I read The Unhoneymooners and The Last Time I Lied this weekend, both books from the last time I asked for book recommendations. Every time I return library books, I post on instagram and ask everyone what the best book they've read recently is, then I put it on my library list no matter if I've heard of it or not. I've read some great ones that way! I'm heading there today, so if you've got any recommendations, let a girl know.
I read a quote on instagram this week that has stuck with me: "I no longer sit at tables where I will be the topic of conversation when I get up." HELLO. That's so good.
I would like to pause here and tell you that I just got up to refill my coffee and realized I was out of almond milk. Today is just not a black coffee day so I mixed it with a splash of premiere protein and holy moly that is good!
Moving on to more random things: Beautycounter is releasing an anti-aging skincare line tomorrow and I am SO EXCITED. Mine should be getting here today and I can't wait to try it!
Happy Monday, ya babes. I hope today is great for you. Take a minute to remind yourself that today marks a brand new week and you can do whatever it is you want to do with that. That always feels empowering to me.
You are strong, you are capable, you are loved, and you are totally going to OWN this Monday! xoxo
For the first time maybe ever, I'm writing this in real time as I'm drinking my coffee, so it's like we really are having a real-life coffee date. And don't worry, if you're reading it this afternoon, I'm probably also drinking coffee then, too.
First things first, if we were having coffee, you'd see that my first sip this morning completely skipped my mouth and went straight down the front of my shirt. My white shirt. It's fine. Everything is fine.
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm now a Beautycounter affiliate. The number one question I get on here and instagram is what kind of makeup do I use and how do I make my skin look glowy (I mean, y'all know how to make a girl feel good). I'm constantly recommending it, and I'll be honest: Something clicked in my brain. I make money off my Amazon recommendations, why the HECK am I not making money off my makeup recommendations? PS: This and this is what I use to get the glow.
I'd tell you that today is the eleventh day in a row I've exercised. I have never in my entire life worked out on the weekends, but I made a commitment to do 30 minutes a day for 30 days, even if it was something simple like going for a walk. A third of the way done, and I feel so good.
I'd tell you that Jack is learning about pirates at school, and this is what he looked like when I picked him up yesterday. My heart is STILL exploding.
I'd tell you that I've been thinking so much about cheering each other on. About how important it is, but also about how EASY it is. My girl Kait is KILLING it with getting her work published all over. Do you know how long it takes to retweet those things so more people can see? Two seconds. My friends Christine and Lindsay started a podcast a few weeks ago, and it took me all of 30 seconds to subscribe and rate it, which helps bump them up in the charts. My best friend Kristen is a BOMB photographer, and it takes the smallest second of my day to fangirl her in the comment section when she posts a new picture on her business account.
See where I'm going with this? It's so easy, it's free, and it means the whole wide world to your friends. More building each other up!
Your turn! What's going on with you? And more importantly - did you spill your coffee this morning?
Oh hey good morning! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love a good live blog. It's basically a chance to just type out a whole bunch of thoughts that are completely unrelated to each other and call it a blog post.
I'm up insanely early today, because Jack starts VPK! Or as I have been calling it when talking to him about it, baby school. Every day I've told him, "Jack loves baby school!" Even though I have a strong suspicion that when I drop him off today, he will not, in fact, be the biggest fan.
The last few weeks have been weird, because they have been SO HARD (on a multitude of levels), but they've also left me with renewed motivation for lots of stuff in my life. I'm not sure why, or if the two are related, but I'm rolling with it.
Speaking of new motivation, I'm back on my you-know-what with working out. I don't love working out in the moment, I just don't. I wish I was one of those people who craved it, but I'm not. I am, however, one of those people who loves it after the moment, who realizes she always feels better after working out and has decided it's just not worth it to skip it. I've been doing pure barre at home workouts, and lots of Blogilates workouts (like this ab one - short, doable, and you'll 10/10 feel it the next day).
File this under things currently making my life easier: Walmart grocery pick up. I can wake up, make a grocery list while still under the covers, and then take my coffee and drive up so someone can load my groceries in my car for me while I'm still in my pajamas. Magic? I think so.
I hope you have the best Monday ever. What's on your agenda today? If you need me, I'll probably be crying into my coffee (kidding, but also maybe not) because BABY SCHOOL. Kloveyoubye.
Yesterday was a day. Some. Kinda. Day.
I woke up this morning so ready for a fresh day, so ready to take on this day and make it so much better than yesterday was. The best way I know how to start that is with coffee (obviously) and gratitude. So I'm sitting in bed with my coffee, about to write my thankful list, and I thought, you know what? Let's do it together today.
Whether you had the best day or the worst day or some kind of day in between yesterday, taking some time to shift your perspective to one of gratitude can make today so much better, I promise.
So today, I'm thankful for:
1. A new planner. I got this planner in the mail on Monday and it was just the motivation I needed to get organized.
2. Easy dinners. There are times and seasons where I love cooking and love looking up new recipes and spending lots of time in the kitchen. This is not one of those seasons. Give me all the burrito bowls and pasta and anything else that takes approximately 15 minutes to throw together.
3. Stick on nails. I have these on right now and honestly they look so good that they make me feel like I have my life together. It's the little things, you know?
4. Ice roller. I woke up with a puffy face today and AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. I swear by this $10 little gem I got on Amazon. It feels amazing.
5. My family, blood and not. I won the freakin' family lottery, let me tell you. But beyond that, the friends that have chosen to be my family? Gosh. Overwhelmed with gratitude for them.
What are YOU thankful for today?
Good morning! I've got some thoughts that have been swirling around since yesterday. I started to talk about them on insta stories, but it got way too long. So instead I've brought them here, where I can angrily passionately bang them out on a keyboard, which is my natural habitat anyway.
This is what I've been thinking about: There are a lot of things we should do that are hard. We should eat healthy and exercise, but that can be hard (because we live in a world where pizza and Netflix are a thing). We should always keep our word, but that can be hard because things come up and life gets in the way. We should be nice to everyone, but that can be hard because sometimes people are idiots.
Not being mean? THAT'S NOT HARD.
I've seen a lot of mean things this week. Personal things from people I know, but I've also seen a lot of people sharing / reposting / retweeting mean things. I get that it feels easier, and less mean, maybe, to share something you didn't actually say yourself, but man, I don't like what that says about us.
Two things.
One: I don't care if you didn't write it, if you share an article full of making fun of someone and being mean about someone, YOU ARE BEING MEAN. If you forward an email or text full of meanness, even meanness you didn't originally write, YOU ARE BEING MEAN.
Two: It's not freakin' hard to not be mean. Don't share the mean thing on facebook. Don't retweet the mean tweet about the person you've never even met. Don't forward mean things to other people. That's. Not. Hard.
If you don't like someone, don't hang out with them! Don't agree with someone's theology? Don't buy their books! Don't like a certain blogger? Don't follow them! But being mean just for the sake of doing it? Gross. Don't do that.
Life is entirely too short to be mean. It doesn't bring you anything good. It doesn't bring the world anything good.
Don't be mean. It's easy! The end.
