I love the summer months because the sun gives my face a hint of color. Any imperfections are hidden by that sun glow I get even when I wear SPF. We spend more time outdoors in the summer and get a good daily dose of vitamin D. Then fall comes around and we slowly start to turn up the heat, spend more time outdoors and our skin is exposed to harsh cold winds. Naturally, your skin is going to react to this big environmental change so be sure to be prepared this year with the right tools to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy.
Drink Water All Day
My first sign that my skin was feeling the affects of the seasons changing was that I was thirsty all the time. My lips felt chapped, my mouth dry and I could tell that my body needed more water intake. During the summer months, I am constantly drinking water or some beverage to keep cool in the heat. But during the fall, I just forget to keep a water bottle around me at all times. Now I fill up a big tumbler of water and keep it with me throughout the day as a reminder to keep drinking water.
The Lazy Version of an Organic Diet
You won’t find me shopping exclusively in the organic section of the grocery store, but I do try to buy fresh food always. If 2020 taught me anything, it’s how to cook with fresh ingredients because I had the time to experiment in the kitchen. Now we cook almost all of our meals from scratch and stay away from processed foods. To stay healthy, we also limit our dairy intake and use dairy alternatives whenever we can. Our fridge has chopped up vegetables for easy snacks and always have a stocked fridge so we have easy dinner options instead of ordering in.
Moisturize
I go to bed every night with dewy skin because of the amount of products on my face to keep it hydrated and healthy. It took a while but I finally found a nighttime routine that got me ready for bed in under 5 minutes that worked for me and my needs. At night before bed, I wash my face, brush my teeth and apply toner, serum and a moisturizer before bed. A lot of this is for preventative care knowing I will appreciate this 5 minutes of self care a night in 10 years. It’s a lot more difficult to correct skin damage and make it healthy again than a few minutes a day of preventative care. Create a routine that works for you to apply a face moisturizer at night on your face, neck and chest and your future self will thank you for it!
Create a Healthy Lifestyle
Lack of sleep, stress, anxiety are just a few things that can make your face look tired and dull. A few years ago I started to set an alarm at night as a reminder when I should be getting into bed. Some days I need that little reminder that it’s time to unwind and get into bed. Sleep is so important for skin health and for calming anxiety throughout the day. (Almost) Everything is possible when you are well rested! Change your sheets weekly, use the Calm App to become less anxious and journal to release those strings of thought that can add to a stressful mind.
Supplements
Besides taking my daily vitamin, I also have a scoop of Vital Proteins collagen in my morning coffee every day. If I have the time, I love to make a fruit and spinach smoothie in the afternoon to get my daily dose of fruit and vegetables. We need to be mindful of what we put into our body and I have seen big drastic improvements in my skin when I take certain supplements. However, always do your own research and do what is best for you and your lifestyle.
Lately, I’ve been staying up way past my bedtime even though my eyes get heavy at around 1am. My body wants the sleep but I just cannot give in just yet. At night, I get into bed at a reasonable time and get all cozied up in bed before I open up my book and enter a fantasy world. Before I know it, hours have passed and I keep telling myself, just a few more pages. After spending the last year watching too much television, my eyes needed a break so I started to set time at night to read before bed. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten lost in a story, the characters, an imaginative world put together with words on a page.
The world outside my bedroom has a lot going on at the moment and I don’t predict that things are going to calm down anytime soon. I love the feeling that time stops still when I read a good book. It’s so easy to get lost in a fantasy world. These days the tv is on a lot less, I spend less time at my computer and more time on the couch sneaking a few minutes here and there or in bed at night to find out what happens next.
Recently on my trip to New York, I spent most of my time on a park bench reading my book. As I sat there with a book in my hands, I got some bizarre looks as people walked by. Apparently reading an actual book and not scrolling on a phone is a foreign sight for others to see. As I sat in the famous Central Park reading my book, while a man played familiar songs on a violin down the path, with the warm sun on me, I felt indescribably happy. I wish I could have put that happy feeling in a jar to keep in a safe spot for me to use later.
As I walked through the aisles of a Barnes and Noble to pick up the next book in the series I’m reading, I couldn’t help but get a skip in my step. Turning my head to the side as I scanned the books all perfectly lined up for the authors name I was looking for. I sat on the floor and flipped through the pages. Feeling the crips pages of the book excited to get home and start reading.
That’s it for now. I’m heading to the couch with a cup of tea to read a chapter or two… or a few!
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” ― Jane Austen
Happy Fall y’all! I’m cozied up in warm pajamas as I write today’s blog post. Last week, I started a new job and forgot how much work it is to balance work and life. I was going to bed before 9pm because my body was not used to waking up early and working all day. It was a long week but I had a lot of fun getting to know everyone and I’m looking forward to getting back to work. On Friday, we celebrated by going out to dinner at Thai Square and then I went to bed early. Is this what my thirties are going to look like?? It was so nice to sleep late on Saturday with no alarm. I threw on some comfy leggings and hung out with a friend I haven’t seen in over a year because of the pandemic. I feel like I blinked and we went from living in quarantine and the next minute things are kinda like back to normal? Sunday morning we were up early to take a train to New York City. Jake had to work out of the New York City office so I went with him for a few days. I shared what we did, where we stayed and a delicious restaurant recommendation in this blog post . I’m looking forward to a slow weekend at home. Hope you get out and enjoy this nice fall weather!
Only Murders in the Building on Hulu has me laughing out loud and the casting is genius!
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is back and I’ve been texting my friends to talk about it while I watch. The drama this season is goood!
LuLa Rich on Netflix is a documentary show about the rise and fall of Lularoe. I started to watch it and then restarted it when Jake walked by because I knew he would love the drama.
Since I got back from our cruise, my hair has felt dry and brittle so I’ve been going longer between hair wash days and using Redken shampoo and conditioner to get my softer hair back. But going back to work means that I have to style my hair every morning. For an easy blow out, I’ve been using my Conair hair dryer brush. It takes less than 5 minutes in the morning to turn my bedhead into a salon blowout. I am constantly rotating my mascaras and this week I’ve been using Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Last week my Tarte Sex Kitten Eyeliner ran out so I picked up L’Oreal Paradise Eyeliner. It’s easy to use and love love love it!
Loving this new line of OPI nail polish called Nature Strong. It lasts a lot longer than my other nail polish and it’s vegan.
I stayed up way too late last night to read my book because I am almost finished reading it. When I was reading the first two books of the Outlander series, I read them within days and now that I’m back home from vacation I’m enjoying my time and making them last a while. I have less than 100 pages left of Voyager so I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the rest of the books in the series so I wouldn’t have to wait for them to arrive by mail anymore.
Finally did the thing and bought the Lululemon belt bag. Bought way tooo much at the Harry Potter store in New York. Browse for yourself here. Since I’m reading the Outlander series so fast, I picked up the rest of the books at Barnes and Noble. I got a PR box of Pete’s Coffee Creme Brulee k-cups and they are the perfect afternoon sweet treat.
Finally got around to sharing pictures and what we did on our cruise last month on the blog.
Early mornings to myself.
Looking forward to a weekend at home.
This past week in New York was such a nice treat! I talked more about what we did in this blog post.
Starting to decorate our house for fall. All of our fall decor sat collecting dust on our dining room table for a few weeks but now pumpkins are being put around the house to get into the fall mood.
Still looking at pictures I took at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and planning our next trip back!
Almost finished with my book, Voyager – the third book in the Outlander series, and I’m eager to get started on the next one in the series.
Jake recently had to work out of the New York City office for a few days which meant he had to get a hotel room. Since my work schedule at the moment is flexible, I decided to be his plus 1. While he at work, I could spend the day in the city and meet up with him for dinner later. I took the train with him to NYC on Sunday afternoon and we made our way to the Knickerbocker Hotel near his office. Jake has stayed at this hotel a few times for work and we booked this hotel for our Valentine’s Day NYC trip last year. It’s in Times Square and is a very nice luxury hotel that can be affordable depending on what type of room you get. We were upgraded to a Junior Suite since we were a returning guest which was really nice! After a work Zoom meeting in the room, we walked to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It’s similar to the gift shops at Harry Potter world at Universal theme parks. When we looked online, the virtual reality experiences were sold out a week in advance so be sure to plan in way advance! There is also a virtual queue to get into the store and you have to sign up in person at the store. No biggie, but we were told once we got there that sign ups for the virtual line start first thing in the morning and sell out fast. so we waited less than 10 minutes in the walk-in line. I’m sure it depends on the day but be sure to get there in the morning and get on the virtual line so you have a guaranteed time just to walk in. It seems annoying, but it was so nice to have room in the store to walk around and see everything without bumping into people. There are two floors to shop and I wanted everything! I took a ton of photos to send to my friends and family and felt like a little kid while walking through the store. It truly is a very magical place! We will definitely be coming back to walk through it again and for me to buy more things LOL! By the checkout, there is a Butterbeer Bar that is SO cute! We each got a Butterbeer and a tasty themed cupcake.
Since Jake had to be in the office early the next day, we got Five Guys to-go on our walk back to the hotel and ate dinner in our room. While Jake worked on his laptop preparing for a meeting, I got to enjoy our king size bed to myself for a bit before I passed out. The next morning we were both up early and when Jake went to work, I went down to get breakfast at the hotel. After a tasty breakfast, I stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and went to Bryant Park to read for a while. Most trips to New York are busy days filled with lots of things to do. It was nice to have a trip where I had downtime and could sit in a park and people watch. I didn’t have much planned for the day but wanted to just walk around the city. After sitting in Bryant Park for a few hours, I had to walk through the New York Public Library. It’s one of those places you need to go at least once!
From there, I walked down 5th Avenue and popped in and out of stores as I made my way to Central Park. I walked around the park for a while until I found a good spot to sit down and read my book for a few hours. It was so calming to be able to sit on a bench, listen to someone playing music, hearing bits and pieces of peoples conversation as they walked past me. The weather was warm and sunny with a slight breeze.
I made my way back to the hotel to rest a bit before Jake got out of work. Another nice perk of getting a hotel room! We both changed outfits before walking to dinner at The Smith. To be completely honest, I only picked this restaurant for dinner because the day before we had walked past it and I thought it looked pretty! I posted a picture of the bar on my Instagram story and had a flood of messages come in about NYC locals and friends who have been there before. The food was delicious! To start, I got a glass of wine and Jake got a cocktail with a heavy pour. We ordered crab cakes as an appetizer, for the main course, I got the salmon and Jake ordered squid ink pasta Of course we both had to get dessert! I ordered a vanilla fudge sundae and Jake got a mini blueberry pie. I’m not a big dessert person but that was beyond yummy!
When we got back to the room, I took a bubble bath and watched Bridget Jones Diary while Jake got some work done. After a long day, I was excited to get into bed and watch movies in our big bed. Talk about a relaxing way to end the day!
On Tuesday, we got a late check out so I slept in a little and brought my book with me to breakfast. I spent an hour or so reading my book and enjoying my coffee after I finished eating. After this trip, I’ve become a cup and saucer type of gal! It’s so chic to use for morning coffee. Jake stopped by on his lunch break to pick up my overnight bag and he checked out of the hotel. After walking 27,000 steps the day before, I didn’t want to do too much walking so I walked around Times Square which looks so different since we were there a year ago. I remember going at least once a year as a little kid and there were so many stores. Now with the pandemic, most businesses are gone. It was also very warm that day so I walked towards Herald Square and popped into some stores to get a break from the heat. I spent a few hours at Macy’s because it is so iconic and got some inspiration to redo our master bedroom bedding. I was sending pictures to my friend and mom of different comforters and cute home items. My feet needed a break so I walked to Bryant Park and sat at a table for an hour while I read my book waiting for Jake to finish up with work. Luckily, he didn’t have to work late so we had time for dinner at a small dinner near Penn Station and got to our train on time.
Even though this was technically a work trip, I am so happy I went with Jake for a solo trip to walk around New York City. It’s a city my family and I went at least once a year growing up because we lived so close in New Jersey. Those were always day trips so we all would wake up early to drive into the city and then kind of be limited on staying where we parked. This is the second time I’ve been to New York City and had a hotel room to be able to have a slow morning and be able to come back to the room to relax before heading out again. Seriously, it’s a game changer! I knew that I could have gone to the MET or seen a show by myself while Jake was at work, but I honestly had such a fun time just walking around and sitting in parks. Hopefully next trip will be for pleasure for the both of us!
I am usually the type of person who likes to unpack the day they get home from a trip because I hate to keep tripping over a suitcase. However, this week I finally finished unpacking from our cruise even though we got home two weeks ago. What took me so long? There was a lot to unpack and there was a lot to do at home after traveling almost all of August! Now that everything is put away, been through the wash and luggage put back into storage, I’m excited to sit down and share about our trip! It was my first cruise and Jake was in charge of planning because he has been on a few with his family in the past. We originally booked this cruise last July for our three year anniversary back when everything was shut down. When the world looked bleak, it was nice to look forward to something. We had fun shopping for new vacation clothes, excursion supplies and picking out what book we would read on our balcony while sailing through the ocean.
What to Pack
It depends on where you are traveling to and what you plan on doing. It’s not a bad idea to overpack a little but I found that I really didn’t need to bring all that much with me on the ship. Most cruise websites give you a packing itinerary based on where you are sailing to that can be helpful!
1 dress per day for dinner, casual or dressy
1 coverup
1 formal outfit if you choose to participate in the formal dinner night on the ship
2 shorts and a t shirt outfits for leaving port and getting off the boat your last day
Comfortable outfits for Day at Sea activities, shorts and a top
Overpack on undies because you will do multiple outfit changes a day
Overpack on bathing suits so you always have a dry one available
Sneakers, sandals and a fun shoe to wear to dinner
Socks
1 workout outfit
A light sweatshirt in case it gets chilly at night
Don’t worry about forgetting to pack something because the boat will have it! The rooms will have shampoo, conditioner and there are items you can purchase in the shops if you need them. I like to accumulate trial size versions of products I use everyday so when I travel I can just pack those instead of needing my full sized versions of the product. For this trip, I brought my own high end shampoo and conditioner because I am picky about what I wash my hair with along with a small lotion, toothpaste and a toothbrush. If you have a smaller version of a product that you need to bring, be sure to use that to leave as much room as you can in your suitcase!
make-up, same advice as above, use the trial size versions if you can to save room!
Since this was an anniversary celebration trip, we had a suite with a balcony and chose to have our luggage brought to the room for us. If you are able to do it this way, I highly recommend it! It makes the days at sea and mornings so much more magical. A helpful hint, be sure to walk around the ship the first day to get an idea of where everything is and make notes of what to do on the boat. We started each day with room service so I could enjoy a cup of coffee and croissant on the balcony before getting ready for the day. We also agreed to wake up and get moving before 8am every morning to enjoy every minute we could on the ship. We didn’t want a trip where we were to busy to enjoy it, so we planned some downtime in our day as well as an excursion or activity on the boat.
Excursions
Since this was my first cruise, I let Jake plan all of our excursions. Of course I had a say in what I wanted to do, but I put his planning skills to good use and let him plan. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend more money on excursions. Couldn’t we just walk around once we got to port? I’m happy Jake insisted we plan excursions ahead of time because that is what made our trip. Do your research and homework and plan out your daily game plan way in advance. Excursions do sell out and a lot of people were stuck at Port because they didn’t realize that going to the beach in the Bahamas was considered an excursion you had to sign up for ahead of time. Our first stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica and we hopped on a bus to climb a waterfall and swim with dolphins. It was an amazing experience I will never forget! The staff went out of their way to make sure we had a memorable experience and kept us on schedule to get back to the ship before it left port.
Our second stop was Bimini, Bahamas and we signed up for a day at the beach as our only excursion. It was $60 for 2 beach chairs and an umbrella for the day at a beach resort and while it may seem silly to pay for, it was a guaranteed spot to sit at the beach with an option to leave and come back at any time because we had a wrist band. We ordered food to our chair and enjoyed a few cocktails. It was the perfect relaxing beach day! There were other excursions to do in the Bahamas but we wanted our last day to be a lazy one because it was a much needed vacation for the both of us!
Let’s talk about the food…
It is impossible to go hungry on a cruise! There is a buffet that is open most of the day and at night, there is a late night menu. In the main dining hall, it’s more of a restaurant experience which I preferred over the buffet and found the food to be better too. There are also a dozen eateries around the boat that are also included (aka free) that are open all day. While there are a ton of places to eat “for free”, you can also have a more upscale restaurant experience or a few eateries have delicious food for a small cost. We got sushi one night and it was $5 for a large portion. When you sign up for the cruise, you will be bombarded with emails about things to do, packages to sign up for and also helpful information about your trip. We looked into unlimited alcohol package for us but when we did the math, it was impossible for the two of us to drink enough for it to make sense financially. Instead, we got the free soda, juice and water package. I am so happy we did because I could stop at the bar at any time without having to pay. Being in the sun that long, I needed to drink water constantly and the soda was a nice sugar pick me up and refreshing after some time in the sun. There are a lot of bars on the ship and we luckily found a little quiet one in the back that didn’t have a lot of visitors. We got close to the two bartenders at that bar who let us bring our food from the eateries there to eat or just hang out and enjoy a cocktail when we needed a break from the sun. People are not joking when they say you will gain weight being on a cruise! Which is why I wouldn’t let us take any elevators and made us take the stairs so we could try and walk off some calories!
Fun Day at Sea
So let’s talk about what you can do on the ship. While I loved reading my book on our balcony in the late afternoon each day, we did venture out of our room to see what other fun could be had on the ship. We did a game of mini golf which had us laughing the entire time because wind was not our friend! There is a ton of organized fun to do on the ship everyday like themed quizzos, crafts, comedy shows, etc. We did a game of Bingo because you have to when you are on a cruise ship, a few games of quizzo, and spent our last night in the Piano Bar. Oh and there are plenty of kid-free places to enjoy around the ship if that is your thing. We spent an afternoon at the adult only lounge area which had cabanas and comfy places to lay out.
Last bit of advice, slow down and enjoy every minute at sea!
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 rewardyourself for achieving goals, big and small!
Blonde Rosie Blog 