Is anyone else going through a busy season right now? Right now, work is extra busy as we get to the end of the school year and with the warmer weather, my social calendar is filling up very quickly! This means less time to get ready in the morning before work and I need makeup to stay in place all day. My morning starts with Zoom meetings before I transition into in-person meetings at school before we kickoff program at 2pm. Then I’m running around trying to keep up with the kids and going to dinner with friends after work if I’m not running errands! My week days are exhausting and my weekends are filled with fun things to do so I need makeup that can keep up with my busy schedule. More and more, I have been reaching for this foundation because I know it can keep up and stay put without fading or getting oily. While I love using drugstore foundations, this time of year when it’s hot one day and chilly the next, I like to use my higher end products because of the dewy, poreless glow this foundation gives me no matter the weather. A little bit goes a long way which makes it worth every single penny!
I love this foundation so much! The coverage is great without looking too heavy and it is very long wearing perfect for the working girl. Besides getting a preless dewy look, I also love how easy it is to blend which is super helpful in the morning when I’m rushing to get ready! Let me know if you are a fan in the comments below.
Recently, I found my social calendar packed with plans with family and friends. So much so that after almost three years now of limited social interactions, work meetings on Zooms, and usually staying in on the weekends, my body started to feel the change physically. As most busy schedules happen, it started off slowly with making plans for a Saturday event a few months back and completely forgetting about it until the week before when I got an email reminder. Right now, my Saturdays are about what I want to do, not what I need to do, but I knew the change of plans would be a nice change of pace. However, the purpose of the event was “team building” with Philly youth and since ice breakers are my version of hell, I thought this is going to be exhausting. I admit I cried a little as I had to be up and out of the house before 8am on a Saturday morning but 5 hours later, I was happy I went out of my comfort zone and did it. I felt like I needed a week off to recuperate after the physical and social demands of me. On Sunday, we walked down the street to a street festival, Plazapalooza, to walk around and have dinner. During the before times (before Covid), street festivals were an every weekend thing during the Spring and Summer here in Philadelphia. With one so close and back after two years, I wanted to make the effort and attend. Jake and I laughed going to bed that night trying to remember the last time we were busy with plans Saturday and Sunday. Clearly, it had been a long time. That week, my parents came to visit for a few days. I could only move my work schedule around so much so we made plans to go to lunch at Reading Terminal Market before I had to head home and jump back on Zoom work calls. At night, we took my parents to some of our favorite restaurants in our little neighborhood, Grace Tavern and, Pub & Kitchen. A bing popped up on my calendar on Thursday to remind me of an important breakfast work meeting in the city. As we all said goodbye and waited for the valet to bring our cars around, I wondered if working from home may be a thing of the past. My parents left Friday morning after I got home from breakfast and at that point, I was craving a healthy meal after eating out so much that week. That healthy dinner would have to wait because a work friend invited herself over and wanted to go out for tacos and margaritas because it had been honestly been a long week and we all needed it! So the two of us and Jake walked to El Rey for two pitchers of margaritas and tacos as we talked and laughed until the place closed down. We made the walk back to my house and continued to talk until 3 am. At one point in my life, this was a usual Friday night routine for me, but in my old age ( and my body learning that it loved an early bedtime during quarantine) I was tired! That Saturday, Jake was the one who had signed us up to volunteer to help at a 5k months ago. Why is it that when you make plans months in advance, you still don’t plan your week around them better? We had to be up and out of the house before 7am to get there in time and it was also a 90 + degree day so we were feeling the exhaustion a little more that day. We got lunch with friends who were also at the event and finally headed home later that day. On Sunday, my parents were stopping by to stay over for a night before they headed back to North Carolina and Jake had to pack and get ready for his train that afternoon to head to New York City for the week for a work trip.
This past week, it was just Ed and I at home, and the quiet home was appreciated more than ever after a few busy weeks. During quarantine, mostly out of boredom, I redesigned our home to make it comfy and calming. Each piece of furniture and throw blanket, piece of artwork, and candle are intentionally placed to make the space easy to tidy and feel welcoming as you walk in. My home has become one of my favorite places to be especially after a long day. I wasn’t always like this. I hated being home and felt like I was missing out on something if I stayed home. Now I feel like I’ve given myself and my body permission to rest, to be bored and to enjoy the lack of social plans. Now when I do have a busy day, weekend or even a workweek, I get to enjoy the business because I know that I can give myself a quiet weekend another day. With summer officially here, we are not slowing down anytime soon. Take the time now to schedule a vacation, a break, or block out time to not be connected to work or the internet. Sign up for a fitness class, a meal prep service, or just buy a fun water bottle to keep you hydrated. Plan a weekend to redecorate your bedroom or living space so when you come home, it really feels like coming home.
Eating a leftover Valentine’s Day cupcake for a treat while I finally sit down to share a round-up of my favorite things. Still can’t believe that Monday was Valentine’s Day because it feels so long ago. Jake spoiled me with roses and we had dinner together before both of us hopped back onto our computers to get more work done. This weekend we are celebrating Valentine’s Day at the Harry Potter Exhibit. It’s been on our calendar for months and Life has been busy since I became a Program Manager at my job. Long hours, busy days, and still not enough time to get it all done! It’s been a big adjustment but I’ve been loving every minute of it. It’s really rewarding to work in nonprofit and see the good that it does every day.
How I Met Your Mother Doing a rewatch with Jake to get ready to watch How I Met Your Father!
The Promised Land Not what I was expecting but immediately fell in love! I feel like tv has been missing that drama tv show the last few years that kept you on the edge of your chair wanting more. This one is
Pivoting A 30-minute show about three childhood friends figuring out the world together as adults that makes me laugh.
Abbott Elementary This is just the show I needed this year after working in various Philadelphia schools the last few months.
And Just Like That I’ve heard some conflicting reviews on the new chapter of SATC and I personally loved watching it. Sex and the City was never that show that was a happily ever after and I respect the direction it went in.
In this post-2020 world, I don’t take wearing makeup daily for granted anymore. I love to put on a podcast with a warm cup of coffee and spend 10 minutes getting ready in the morning. This lipstick lip balm keeps my lips hydrated and looks great on all of my Zoom calls too!
Coffee. The morning newspaper. Getting back into a routine after Watching documentaries at night about the royal family. Sleeping in this weekend!
Once February comes around my obsession with pink only grows. I recently changed a few things around in my closet to make room for my pink sweaters. L’Oreal sent me a package with their new Glow Paradise balm lipstick and it is so nice! The balm lipstick feels like a lip balm and instantly makes them feel softer with a touch of natural-looking color.
It is impossible to run into a store to run an errand and not come out without a lipstick to try. Since I work from home in the mornings and I spend hours on Zoom and Teams calls, I need an easy way to stand out on camera. This makes my impulse buying of lipsticks come in handy because I can look “awake” on camera when I put on a minimal amount of makeup with a bold lip. Revlon sent me a package with a Revlon Colorstay Satin Ink Liquid Lipstickand I’ve shared it on my Instagram before. I like to wear it in the morning when I know I have meetings on Zoom and I need to go to school in the afternoon because it does not come off when I wear my mask. This lipstick is surprisingly comfortable being a liquid and doesn’t dry out my lips like most lip stains.
Happy New Year! It’s our first week in the new year and it feels like it’s been a month since we rang in the new year. With Covid numbers rising, we wanted to keep our plans small this year which was just what we needed! While Jake was at work, I got a much-needed haircut and at night we walked to Miracle on 13th Street to see the light display before grabbing takeout at one of our favorite restaurants, Thai Square, down the street. I am so happy we spent the weekend on the couch resting and doing some organizing because we both hit the ground running on Monday. My work to-do list doubled as we found out last minute that schools were virtual and that changed our plan for programming for the week. This week, I spent a lot of time in meetings and planning logistics for the program but I missed seeing my kids. The most exciting part about this week was that I got to use my new planner and pens that I got for Christmas. As someone who likes to be organized, I love using a new planner at the beginning of the year. A new blank page means so many possibilities!
Our only plan on January 1st was to watch the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special on HBO Max. A few minutes in and all of the magic came rushing back to me and I was in tears because it was so well put together! It was so good we watched it twice!
I’ve recently become obsessed with the Hallmark TV app so I’ve been watching Hallmark movies in the background while I work from home. It’s free and a great way to find a movie to watch when you just need the cheesy storyline.
At night while I get ready for bed, I have been playing an 80s or 90s movie on the bedroom tv. Hulu has a lot of classic 80s/90s movies to choose from right now and even though I’ve seen them so many times before, they are classics for a reason!
Last year my goal was to watch tv shows from the 1990s that I never saw and I’m excited to keep this going this year. Right now I am watching Alias and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It’s funny when Jake comes to bed at night and asks what he missed when I’m watching Sabrina. It’s just that perfect 20-minute show with funny humor and storyline they don’t write anymore.
I’m not sure what took me so long, but we are watching Superstore together and it is so funny! As someone who worked retail for many years, I can say that it is very accurate to work culture and shenanigans.
Recently on the blog, I have shared a ton of my favorite products that I love love love!
This daily moisturizer with vitamin C is perfect for winter to get a bit of a healthy glow. These eyeshadow palettes are my go-to right now and were recently on sale. It’s chapped lip season and this lip balm has avocado oil which is a game-changer in keeping them hydrated! I’ve talked about a lot of serums on the blog so I made a guide to make it easy to pick one that works best for you here. It’s a skincare step that you cannot skip! Even with a box full of foundations to choose from, I keep using this affordable foundation.
This week has been busy for both of us so I’ve had to rely on our easy dinner favorites for dinner. On Monday, I made lemon garlic pasta which is super easy and always a big hit. I’ve made it so many times now that I just wing it. We always keep some Mahi Mahi burgers from Trader Joe’s in our freezer for a quick dinner. After a busy day of meetings and running around for both of us, we ordered sushi and had a small date night watching Superstore before I passed out from exhaustion from my booster shot! Last night I was working from home late so I threw some Trader Joe’s ravioli into a pot and tried to convince Jake that I made it from scratch but he didn’t believe me for a minute ha!
Picked up some amazing items from TJ Maxx and Homegoods included in the after-Christmas sale.
Ordered a lot of organizers on Amazon to get our basement a bit more organized before we bring down all of the Christmas decorations.
I ordered Jake this wireless phone charger and now I need to get one for myself because I’m obsessed. Since Jake works in tech, I had to do my research to make sure it was a good one and it has his approval!
This week I have been doing a lot of Zoom meetings so I’m living in my J Crew sweaters because they look very professional but are very cozy.
Picked up new Skinnygirl sports bras at TJ Maxx because they are soo comfy.
My Simplified Planner is quickly filling up and it’s helping me keep my life organized!
Got my booster shot this week and while not being able to use my left arm was a big pain and I was tired, I’m so happy to be extra protected.
Wrote a round-up of my favorite things in 2021 here.
Blonde Rosie Blog 