Category: life

how to get and stay motivated

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Whether you are working from home or commuting to the office again as well as also balancing a work/life schedule, it’s a lot to keep organized. My Monday through Friday is about to get a little bit busier so right now I’m planning ahead to make sure I have a schedule and game plan to keep me motivated with a busy schedule.

On Sundays, I love to sit down and make a long to-do list for the upcoming week. I write down every little thought, little or big task and any event I have going on that week. From there, I can schedule errands, tasks and make appointments on my paper and phone calendar. To make sure I add some fun into my week, I like to schedule a fun date night during the week or make weekend plans in advance to have something to look forward to.

Making small goals for the week can help prevent the days from blurring into each other. Read a whole book, workout 3 times a week or get a daily walk in. Try a new restaurant, or coffee shop or find a trail to walk. One thing I’m bringing with me post-pandemic is that life is too short to do the same thing every week!

I love having routines and I swear it’s the secret to keeping my life organized! On Tuesdays, I clean up the house so it’s done weekly and never a big daunting task. Sundays is our laundry and Wednesday is our date night. Baths on Sundays make for a relaxing way to start the week.

With a busier schedule coming up, meal planning is going to be more important than ever!

After being at home for more than a year, I’m looking into in-person workout classes for an excuse to leave the house and meet new people. Find ways to try new things!

For years I was told that you need to be hustling 24/7 to succeed. But the past year + has changed that mindset for me drastically. I’m taking breaks when I can. Weekends are for relaxing. Alone time in the morning is valuable and should not be overlooked. I love to listen to a podcast and enjoy my morning coffee. Evening routines are easy because we meal planned and keep a tidy house so it leaves more time doing the things we want to do.

Start your week with a positive mindset. Work bag is packed by the door, lunches and dinners are planned. Drink water, make time for those fitness goals, and reward yourself for achieving goals, big and small!

Have a good week, friends! You deserve it!

Friday Favorites 9.10

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This morning, I had an appointment in New Jersey and was not expecting that chilly breeze while walking to the car. Brr!!! Fall is officially on its way and it’s time to bring out all of the layers. This week, I started to clean our house and make room for the pumpkins and other fall decor. Even though we have plenty of pumpkins and fall decor already, I’m hoping we can go to Homegoods this weekend to see what else we can find!

  • Sabrina the Teenage Witch is my go-to show to watch at night while I get ready for bed. With only 30 minute episodes, it’s full of laughs and typical 90s sitcom jokes.
  • Impeachment is going to be our new date night show I think and the first episode left us wanting more!
  • Outlander was on hold for a bit because I am reading the books while we do a rewatch.

Trying to recover from summer vacation hair aka dry dead ends with It’s A 10 leave-in product.

OPI came out with a new vegan line of nail polishes, Nature Strong. I’m going on week two of my manicure with very few chips and no top coat.

If you don’t have a dry brush already, be sure to pick one up for yourself. I don’t use it as often as I should, but after a bath I love to use it all over my body to get all of the dead skin off. My legs have never felt softer after I use it.

Wearing lipstick a lot this week while I run errands and I’ve been grabbing these lip glosses each time.

Does a really big grocery run after being out of the country and state for two weeks count? Well that is where I did the most shopping this week ha!

Also picked up these cute cups for $2 at Target because I fell in love with them right away.

Bought myself a new toy (a mop) to give the floors a deep clean before fall. Even though it’s simple and under $10, I was very impressed as I cleaned all of the floors in our house yesterday.

Picked up two of these $8 tanks and I’ll be going back to get more because they are so comfy and will look cute under layers for fall.

This week, Jake made tacos for dinner which were delicious! We got take out sushi on Wednesday which we like to do each week if we can for a hump day treat! Last night, I made pulled pork sandwiches with roasted potatoes and broccoli. Trying to be healthy and eat salads when I can for lunch!

Follow along to see what books I’m reading on my GoodReads account! Halfway done with the third Outlander book, Voyager and need to get the next one asap! I’ve found myself getting into bed around 8pm so I have more time to read.

Fall candles are burning in our house making it smell like fall!

Picked up a bunch of the pumpkins in the dollar bin at Target because they were only a dollar. I may have a pumpkin problem because I have so many around the house….

Ed the cat has been super clingy lately and I’m loving every second of it!

This article about a dinner party straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie gave me the motivation to start planning a dinner party myself!

Mornings with Vital Proteins are my favorite!

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After a long vacation, I was so excited to get home and back into my routine. Before I can even sit down and relax, I’m looking at a very long to-do list of laundry, unpacking, and a trip to the grocery store. One simple thing I can do to get back into my normal daily routine is to start with a cup of coffee. It’s my favorite part of the day and it’s an easy way to get my daily dose of collagen supplement in. I’ve been putting a scoop of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides in my coffee every morning for the last year and I’m constantly talking about the benefits to my family and friends. After a few weeks, I noticed a drastic improvement from head to knees, literally! Benefits of taking Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides daily are, healthier skin, hair growth, and reduced joint pain to name a few. My body recovers faster and I notice that my body isn’t as tired as it usually was after a long day.

Personally, I have continued to take Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides daily because it has transformed my hair. It is thicker and I’m constantly discovering new hair growth all over my head! On my recent vacation, I went without my daily scoop and noticed that my whole body ached. My knees hurt when I was walking upstairs and my back was sore. None of these things was an issue when I was taking my daily scoop of collagen. I’m excited to get back into my daily morning routine with a cup of coffee and a scoop of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides!

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides helps work on the inside so I have the strength and healthy body to keep up.

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Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides // Keurig K-Duo

Friday Favorites 9.3

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This morning I skipped the K Cups and went straight to the coffee beans to make a big pot of coffee. It’s going to be that kind of day! I was quiet on the blog and Instagram the last month because we spent the entire month of August on vacation. It was an amazing trip but we are exhausted!! Spent a week at sea on a cruise to celebrate our three year anniversary. We docked in the Bahamas and Jamaica – everything was such an amazing experience. Then we spent a week in Florida visiting Jake’s family and had some bonus days because of the hurricane cancelling planes. Before I knew it, September was here and with it brings little and big life changes. I love the feeling of a new season. It gives me the motivation to try new things, feel refreshed and ready to live life.

I’ve been having fun sharing in real time what I’m watching on the Blonde Rosie Facebook page.

  • Flack on Amazon Prime was a show I found by accident and binged the entire thing in one weekend.
  • Virgin River is my go-to when I’m taking my weekly Sunday baths.
  • Outer Banks is one of my favorites! We did a rewatch and binged season 2 in one weekend.
  • Turner and Hooch on Disney+ is a show we are watching when we only have time to watch one episode together.
  • Good Girls on NBC and Netflix is another show I stumbled upon and I’m so sad I didn’t find it earlier! It’s better going in blind so just trust me, watch this one asap!
  • Outlander on Starz and Netflix quickly became our favorite show when we caught up in 2019. I’m reading the books right now so we are doing a rewatch while I quickly read the books.
  • Monsters at Work on Disney+ is a show with the Monsters Inc characters that is funny for alll ages.

The entire month of August I basically only used the same makeup and skincare products that fit in my travel bag. Before the trip, I put together a small cosmetic bag of trail sized beauty items so I didn’t have to pack and unpack a ton of items while we were traveling. It was a game changer and I only want to travel this way moving forward!

I talked about this Lancome foundation on the blog and it’s been great at staying put during the summer heat. The design of the foundation is also genius because it comes with a built on sponge to make applying easy with no fuss.

For the no fuss, easy makeup days, I’ve been enjoying using these affordable and high quality products. I’m excited that this brand is coming out with more items because I have been loving everything so far.

Finished this face mask this week and it was much needed to get my skin back to normal after eating a lot of food, traveling and having fun in the sun.

On the higher end, I used this face mask a lot before our trip. My face honestly feels like I had it professionally exfoliated, moisturized and pampered!

Ummm haven’t done much shopping in August because we made some big purchases like flights, a cruise, and had to pay for basics like food while traveling all month. I’m sure American Express thinks I’ve been kidnapped because my balance is going to be very different!

As much as I enjoyed fine dining and trying new restaurants the last month, I am so excited to get back into the kitchen! I didn’t realize how much I loved cooking until I didn’t have a kitchen to use.

Love love love this healthy rosemary chicken and veggies recipe.
Jake immediately asked me to make my penne vodka when we got home.
We are making tacos tonight for dinner with our Giordano’s taco box delivery.
If you are looking for a healthy and easy lunch idea, I love to make a salad and then microwave a few pieces of popcorn shrimp to get some tasty protein in. It’s probably not the healthiest thing to do but I love adding some texture and zest to my boring salads.

Started to read Freed, the Fifty Shades book before leaving for vacation and it’s bad, but a nice way to revisit the series.
Months ago I bought Outlander to read on vacation because it was 500 pages so I thought it would be a great book to bring on a long vacation. The only problem is that I finished it in 4 days and had to Prime the second one when we landed in Florida. The third one is already on it’s way and I had to limit the page limit I read each day to make it last even though it was 800 pages.

  • I rarely drink and definitely indulged on the cocktails on the cruise!
  • Everything about our trip.
  • A relaxing week at Jake’s parents house.
  • Rounded up my favorite snacks here.
  • Snuggles with Ed! He’s been very clingy since we got back home.
  • My bed.
  • Looking forward to a quiet, relaxing weekend!

My Favorite Snacks

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Coming back from a long vacation makes me excited to get home and make a long grocery list to stock up on fridge and pantry. This summer we have been really dedicated into eating healthier and working out a few times a day. To make these goals possible, we try to limit the junk food in our house and keep easy healthy snacks readily available. Since we are both snackers, we like to have options! It takes some meal planning but eating healthy does not take that much effort and it’s easy to find healthy snacks for even the pickiest of eaters!

Smoothie

I’ve talked about the Dole Smoothie Kits before and they are still a freezer staple more than a year later. To add some more healthy ingredients, I’ll add a handful of fresh spinach, a scoop of collagen powder and a banana. To get my calcium intake for the day, I’ll add two big scoops of vanilla yogurt too. 

Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter

If it’s that awkward time before dinner and I’m getting hungry, I’ll put some peanut butter on a rice cake to fill me up before dinnertime. I learned the hard way that I need to put the rice cakes away or Jake and I will eat a whole sleeve of them plain because they are so tasty!

Salad Kits

The Dole salad kits in the grocery store are also a fridge staple in our house. Our favorite part is how easy they are to make and they come in a variety of different dressing flavors so they never get boring.  I’ll pick up a bunch for the both of us to make during the week when we want an easy snack or lunch. 

Veggies

We always have veggies for snacking in our fridge. I like to stock up on cucumbers, peppers and celery so I can have something healthy to munch on at night. 

Fruit

I love to keep seasonal fruit out so I can easily get to it when I go to the kitchen and look for a snack. Banana in the morning, apples with peanut butter in the afternoon. And right now my go to is sliced fresh peaches with a handful of blueberries.

Goldfish

Every time we go to the grocery store, we stock up on Goldfish because it is a favorite in our house. It’s a good junk food snack that quickly fills you up and is somewhat healthy. 

Popcorn and M&Ms 

At night when I am craving something salty and sweet, I’ll make some popcorn and throw in a handful of M&Ms. It’s very tasty and I love when the chocolate melts making every handful delicious! 

Granola Bars

I love these for on the go and try to keep one in my bag at all times. In the morning, I’ll throw one in Jake’s backpack for work and I like to have them on me when I’m running errands in case I don’t have time to stop for a full meal.

Friday Favorites 7.23

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I love to sit down and write up my Friday Favorite posts because it reminds me of what I loved about the week. My weekends lately have been getting busier and busier and I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon. On Friday, I went to browse shoes at Nordstrom Rack and came home with my hands full! Last weekend was supposed to be a slow weekend and then one errand turned into a long day of errands on Saturday. We went to Costco to get three things and walked out with a VERY full cart. This weekend I have my bag packed and I’m heading to visit my parents in North Carolina for a quick trip. In todays post I am sharing a new makeup product that I am loving, a good deal on shoes, and an easy yummy dinner idea. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Lately, I have been sharing what I’ve been watching on my Instagram stories and my Blonde Rosie Facebook page. This week I binge watched Bethenny Frankel’s HBO Maxshow The Big Shot which is like a way better version the The Apprentice in my opinion. For some reason it took me so long to watch Jenna Lyons, head of J Crew for 27 years, Stylish show also on HBO Max.

With a busier schedule I’m wearing makeup more often. I have been loving the of the Lancome Teint Idôle Ultra Wear Foundation Stick. It lasts all day and works best with oily skin which is what I’m struggling with now with of the heat, bonus points because is easy to apply.

With the deals so good at Nordstrom Rack I got the Steve Madden slides that everyone seems to have and a pair of gold Steve Madden slides that will be a nice neutral for any outfit. But I am most excited about finding these block heels that are SO comfortable!

So happy I ordered a few bright dresses from Target for our cruise next month. My suitcase is packed and I’m so ready to spend a week on a beach with a drink in my hand. Target has so many great pieces for $25 right now that it’s hard not to buy everything!

Ordered a new phone case and I am o b s e s s e d! Fell in love with it when I watched Emily in Paris and finally got around to ordering it.

Since I’m out of town this weekend I didn’t go to the grocery store this week so I’ve been making a lot of Trader Joes meals since they are so easy. Can’t go wrong with the orange chicken and the soup dumplings are so easy to make for a quick dinner. I did make pasta with a homemade sauce that did turn out really good! So good there were no leftovers!

Easy Sauce

  • tomato paste
  • diced tomates
  • chopped onion
  • garlic
  • fresh basil and oregano
  • spinach
  • splash of heavy cream
  • Parmesan cheese
  • I think it’s because I missed my dad last week but I subscribed to a newspaper and I love waking up every morning and picking it up from the doorstep.
  • I love working on a crossword puzzle from the newspaper in pen. Never finish them but it’s so much fun to do every day.
  • Trying to be healthy by having hot water with lemon every morning before I have my coffee. It helps me start drinking water in the day and then I continue to fill up my mug throughout the day.
  • Clean sheets this week felt even better with a new Berkshire blanket I picked up at Costco last weekend. I found this brand at Homegoods years ago and now I need to buy one in every single pattern because they are the softest blankets and hold up so well wash after wash.