Category: life

I know I am not alone when I say that I kind of dreaded summer. It’s my favorite season because of the energy, being outside, the food and of course beach days. This summer has shown a bit less energy, being outside looks different, the food shopping is getting old and eating out can be too complicated and finally, the beaches are where you want to avoid because of the crowds. I knew for my own mental health that staying inside all summer was not going to go well so I packed a suitcase (and another one and a few duffel bags) and drove to my parents house to spend the summer there. Since they are in a county with few cases and have a big property, it makes spending all day outside feel normal because we can self isolate without feeling constricted. Running errands is low risk because of the small population so with a mask and timing it right, I walk down empty aisles while I shop.

I had a few weeks of living on vacation but now that it’s my second month here, I am craving some structured routine. I’ve started to wake up early since quarantine and not working really messed up my sleep schedule. After sitting all day I had trouble falling asleep and often would go days without sleeping since I honestly wasn’t tired after sitting all day. Those mornings, or mid-day, when I would wake up, there would be no rush to get out of bed to go… sit? Which is why I’m happy to be at my parents house because I’ve been waking up with the sun naturally eager to get my day started. I’ve been spending all day working in the backyard; weeding, landscaping, sweeping, powerwashing. It’s a big property and a lot to take care of so I work all day in my bathing suit to get some color while I work. Now I go to bed around 9pm because my legs are throbbing after all of the manual work. I’ve noticed my stomach is getting toned and my thighs slowly getting slimmer. Most of all, it is so rewarding to work all day and be able to see what you accomplished. I hope to take this enthusiasm and love of weeding back with me to Philadelphia in the fall. There are a lot of sidewalk and lots overgrown with weeds where garbage gets stuck. I plan on making it a weekly project to go out myself and do some sweeping and weeding to get some fitness in but also keep our street looking nice. For months I did mat ab workouts and yoga and saw little to no changes in my body. Now with spending time outside, I’ve seen a big positive change in my body.

With better sleep and waking up early, I’ve had more time in the morning for me time. I like to start my day with water and lemon before I drink my cup of coffee. Since I’ll be out in the sun all day my skin can get really dry so I’ve been using sunscreen, a good moisturizer and I’ll carry a face mist which I can spray all over when my face feels dry.

While I sip my morning water and coffee, I’ve been getting back in the habit of checking my emails and writing in my planner. Yes, there is nothing going on right now but I like to make goals and realistic plans as something to look forward to. My morning does not consist of running (never going to happen), an hour long yoga session or some elaborate breakfast (I’ve been adding veggies to my scrambled eggs and it’s been so good!). Just by giving myself an hour of “me time” has done wonders for my day. I’m excited to wake up in the morning and after a busy day, I’m going to bed early with joy in my soul.

The products mentioned in today’s post were received complimentary and there was no commitment for a blog post, but I have been loving them so I thought I would share them with you all on the blog.

I blinked and now we are starting another month of quarantine. When 2020 began we all had so many plans and things we wanted to do before the pandemic made the world stop. I’ve been having good weeks and bad weeks like many other people. Mid-June I packed up a suitcase and rented a car to stay at my parents house for the summer. I’m currently not working so I wanted to give myself a summer vacation I will never be able to have again at my parents house in North Carolina. My parents recently moved to their dream home to retire in a cute historic neighborhood on the water. Not only is the house gorgeous, it has a big backyard with a pool where I spend every morning getting some laps in and a screened in back porch where I can read at night. One thing that was really getting to me was sitting idle the last few months. My dad keeps joking that it takes a lot of work to maintain a house like this but it’s been great for me because I can spend a few hours a day working on a project.

Last week my dad and I went on a long bike ride through the neighborhood and I didn’t realize how much I missed the suburbs! We rode around the marina to see the boats and stopped to get a scoop of ice cream as a sweet treat. We wore masks and were able to socially distance but for a few hours, it felt like everything was normal again. It’s little moments like this that bring me so much joy! I’m looking forward to a lot more days like this during the summer. I’m really proud of my parent’s town because whenever we have to run errands, everyone is wearing a mask. It makes grocery shopping or walking through town a lot safer.

My mom and I have a few house projects planned during my visit which is a great way to stay busy while at home. There is a great hiking trail near my parent’s house which we like to visit to get a long walk in while staying safe since it’s pretty empty. I can’t wait to share photos when we are done! We already started working on turning a storage room into a proper craft room which has been a lot of fun.

The popular holiday that truly kicks off summer, the 4th of July is going to look different for everyone this year. We still plan on a cookout in the backyard and stopping by a neighbors house to safely socially distance for a drink. I still plan on wearing my red, white and blue! One thing I love about staying at my parent’s house is being able to wear my summer wardrobe and get out of my pajamas! It has definitely helped my mood and it’s great to get dressed up every day even if it’s just to stay in the house.

I hope everyone is able to make the most of July with picnics, bike rides or long walks to enjoy the summer sun!

As I write this post, I am currently in North Carolina visiting with my parents to get a change of scenery for a bit. There are a lot of perks that come with staying at home: no pants, makeup-free, some extra free time in my day. If anything quarantine has taught us a lot about how we spend our time and what we want to do with our time. The last time I saw my parents was during Thanksgiving and it’s the longest we have ever gone without seeing each other. Summer has always been my favorite season because of growing up at the beach, eating outside for every meal by the pool, and sitting on our front porch while we read together on the weekends. Summertime reminds me of my family and the first few weeks of June made me miss family because of the two decades (almost 3!) of traditions with my family. I tried to stay busy but this time of quarantine has hit all of us in different ways, and I needed my family more than ever. I called my mom daily to cry, talk about my fears, talk things out and tell her about the squirrel that I saw because some days that was as exciting as things got from my living room. Living in a city has a lot of amazing qualities and those qualities make it a little more dangerous and scary during a pandemic. I couldn’t walk anywhere, go to any stores for basic needs, or spend time outside because of the heat.

My parents, cousins, and aunt decided to plan a get together in late August with the whole family at my parent’s house because it has space to safely socially distance and has great amenities. That trip kept me looking forward from a break from the isolated city life for a bit but after a few long talks with my mom, I thought it would be best to make my trip down South a bit longer. Luckily I have a very understanding boyfriend who was very sad to see me go but understand that I needed time with my family. With his work schedule and home renter responsibilities, he had to stay in Philly while I rented a car and drove 9 hours to my parent’s house. It was hard to say goodbye but I love him even more for letting me go even though he could not join me.

Right now I am not working and I haven’t for a while. It’s everyone’s dream not to have to work right? But what no one explained is the lack of structure and economic stress that comes with it. Luckily I was very good at saving and I have a good amount of money in my savings account for rent and other small purchases. Living at my parents right now means that my meals are covered and they will help out with other essential purchases. I’m very lucky that I have my parents to give me another summer free of responsibilities and just be a kid under their roof. In a sense, I’m crawling back home to mom and dad because I needed a break from the stresses of quarantine.

Where my parents live in North Carolina is a mix of suburbia and farmland so there are hiking trails, stores big enough to socially distance in and my parents have a big backyard with a pool to spend all day in. I needed a change of pace for my mental health and it made me think about how I want to invest my time and energy moving forward once I go back to Philly. Jake, if you are reading this I promise I’m coming back!! 🙂 I made a list of ways I want to live my life post- quarantine because life is too short not to enjoy it.

• work/play 50/50
  I used to revolve everything about work but I am changing that. Right now I have some flexibility to look for a job that I am excited to go to and allows for a life outside of work.
• be intentional with my time and how I spend it
  I live in a city and want to do more exploring, go to museums, go to local stores. For a while, we were trying out new restaurants during the week but then I would stay at work late to get stuff done or just be too tired to go out.
• hire house cleaner
  We have already talked about budgeting to get a house cleaner. I used to spend so much time cleaning on the weekends that we could have spent doing fun things instead.
• daily walks
  You don’t realize how much you miss them until you can’t leave the house! My quarantine 10 has come from my lack of walking recently and it’s something I hope to get back to soon!
• working out
  I’ve been doing 10-minute workouts and I have zero excuses to not stick to it. I’m hoping to join a yoga studio as a way to make friends and stay committed. During quarantine, I am building up my strength and want to tone so I’m ready for classes.
• make plans with friends
  We always say we will make plans but this time, I am scheduling them! My previous work schedule prevented me from making plans after work because I never knew if I would be working late or not. On the weekends I was too tired to be social but now I want to focus more on living life than revolving my life around work.
• snail mail
  My family and I have been sending cards to each other and it’s made me actually use the card sets that were collecting dust in my office. To keep this going, I made a list of everyone’s birthday in my planner so I can be ready with a card next year. It’s something so simple but can bring a lot of joy to someone instead of posting on social media.
• plan vacations
  Jake and I are making a list of places we want to visit when we can travel again. Since a lot of places will be offering big discounts to bounce back we added those to our list along with their promotion rates. Since we get a few 3 days weekends throughout the year, I hope to start planning trips during those weekends for 2021 so we don’t have to use vacation days even.
• meditate
  As an American Express cardmember, I was able to download the Calm App for free for a year. I don’t use it as often as I should but I’ve enjoyed the meditations before bed.
• well-stocked kitchen
  My dad and I did a grocery run a few days ago and I cannot tell you how excited I was to be able to put whatever I needed/wanted in the cart because 1) I wasn’t paying for it and 2) we had a car to take everything home with us. I think we are going to continue with our fresh produce delivery and shop more at Costco to get stuff in bulk. I wasted too much time going to the grocery store each week.
• make time to cook
  I used to live off of frozen Trader Joe’s meals and other frozen packaged dinners but the food shortage has really made me make a meal plan and get creative with what I can make. We used our crockpot for a lot of meals and had more of a vegetable-based diet since we got a weekly produce box delivery. I’m excited to keep this new hobby of cooking going!
• read more
  I think I am so used to running around that sitting down to read is the last thing I have time for. Moving forward, I want to be more intentional with my time by taking shortcuts when possible so I can spend more time doing what I enjoy.
• go to bed early
  I know I’m not alone with a sleep schedule that suffered the last few months. I’ve been getting better because I’ve given myself a bedtime where I need to be in bed even if I just lay there unable to fall asleep. I feel so much better going to bed at a reasonable time and enjoying my morning the next day.

Really, another list? YES! Because lists are what keeps me sane these days. I like to have structure and my commute of bedroom to kitchen to dining room table isn’t enough to keep me motivated to get things done. I’ve been playing around with new routines and ways to create structure in my day. Over time I have found what works best for me and I hope it inspires you too!

Make a to-do list
I like to review the previous days list and check off items that got done. Anything that didn’t get done is moved to the new list. Anything important gets a star so I know that I have to complete it that day.

Check email in the morning
This is a new habit and it’s helped keep my inbox to zero. I’ve been unsubscribing to a lot of things and deleting anything that I don’t need.

Tasks
My gmail has a tasks list that I can add emails to or write things down so I don’t forget. Any important emails that I know I have to go back to go on this list.

Create folders in Google Drive
I spent a few days going through my Google Drive and adding everything to folders titled: home, personal, professional, blog content, college. I get a lot of cool resources in my email and then I forget about them or accidentally delete the email. Now I have everything organized and saved in my Google Drive so I can get to it easily.

Eat breakfast
Since I am at home all day I have zero excuses to not eat breakfast. I’ll sit at the table and eat while I check my emails and make my to do list.

Hydrate
In the morning I make a cup of coffee, a smoothie, fill up my water bottle and make a hot cup of water with lemon. It seems like a lot but it helps keep me hydrated all day since it’s all in front of me.

10 minute workout
I didn’t create some unrealistic goal when it came to working out. I just find 10 minutes to roll out my yoga mat and do a quick ab workout or something. I tell myself to work out for 10 minutes and I often find myself going longer. It’s always starting the work out that is the hardest!

Clean up my room before bed
I’ll throw on a face mask and walk around my room putting things away before bed. It helps keep the space clean and it’s always nice to wake up to a clean room.

Meditate
I’ve been using the Calm App at night before bed and it’s quickly become my new nighttime routine. It helps calm my body down and fall asleep easier.

Bedtime
Most importantly I’ve given myself a bedtime. After finding myself up until 3am, 4am I knew it was time to go to bed at a reasonable time that worked for me and to wake up early so I was tired at night.

Self care starts with hydration.

Nestle Pure Life + still water beverages are enhanced with nutrients and full of flavor. They keep me hydrated and they taste delcious!

I’m trying to take advantage of this extra time at home by committing to daily work outs. From long walks, yoga in the morning or an old fashioned workout, I’m getting my sweat in every day! To stay hydrated I have been drinking Nestle Pure Life water because the nutrients help keep me going.

Nestle Pure Life + Revive is made with Magnesium to help reduce tiredness and fatigue.
Nestle Pure Life + Protect is made with Zinc to help maintain a normal functioning immune system.
Nestle Pure Life + Active is made with potassium which contributes to normal muscle function.

I start my day with a tall tumbler of ice water and continue to fill it up throughout the day. There are so many benefits of drinking water throughout the day so I try to get as many glasses in as I can. In the afternoon after a long walk outside in the hot weather or a tough ab workout, I treat myself to a Nestle Pure Life water to hydrate myself and because they taste so good!

And cute workout wear definitely helps get the workout started! You don’t need a fancy gym to stay in shape. Just throw on a cute outfit and Nestle Pure Life water and get that daily work out in!

Thank you to Nestle for working with me on this post. Products were complimentary and as always, all opinions are my own.