Friday Favorites 6.26

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I’ll admit I had to look up the date and day of the week while writing this post. I’ve been at my parents house in North Carolina for a week now and finally took out my laptop to get some writing in. I took some time to just settle in and unpack, enjoy the pool and grocery shop. My visit was a surprise for my dad for Father’s Day which he loved and was very surprised. We had to do some grocery shopping and such so I could get my favorite snacks. It’s something silly but my dad and I would always go grocery shopping together at Wegmans and we would act shocked when the other person added something to the cart that was not on the list my mom made for us. It was fun to do it with my dad because he got to take me to his grocery store down here and complain that they always move everything and can never find what he needs. You don’t realize how much you miss being home until you’ve been away for a long time. My mom and I are spending time together by the pool chatting and catching up. My parents gave me a few projects around the house because they know I like to stay busy and I’m young so I can do some heavy lifting. Earlier this week, we went to Walmart to buy plastic bins to put all of my stuff that has been sitting in all of the guest room closets since the move to put in the basement. I’m starting to make my room here a little more cozy. While we were out, we bought a few things to turn a previous play room into a craft room for my mom. It was where the movers put all of the boxes during the move so now that most of their stuff has been unpacked, I spent two days deep cleaning and building furniture to make it a practical craft room for my mom.

After months of just sitting, I’m excited to get busy with projects around the house and take a quick dip in the pool to cool down. I’ve been spending my mornings drinking coffee outside by the pool and then spending my nights in the screened in porch at night watching tv or relaxing. It’s definitely been a nice change of scenery even though I miss my two boys back home in Philadelphia!

I’ve enjoyed the break from tv since I’ve been down here. I’ll watch some Real Housewives for some noise in the background while I clean or work on a project. My parents finally watched Frozen I and II with me and now my mom understands my obsession with all things Olaf! She even surprised me with an Olaf loofa the other day which I am obsessed with! My dad has the news on 24/7 so I’m back to sitting with him watching what is going on in the world. I already stay informed with The New York Times on Twitter and Huffpost news alerts on my phone but it’s nice to sit on the couch with my dad and complain about morons denying the existence of the coronavirus.

I brought a ton of books and magazines to read while I’m here so I’m excited to lay out by the pool and read. My dad took me to Ollie’s, a store down here that is like a Big Lots to get some pool floats and such. They have a huge book section with books for under $5 so I was able to buy all of Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbooks and Goop books. I’ve officially turned into my mother with collecting cookbooks because they are pretty!

Since I knew I would be in North Carolina for more than two months, I over packed on things I may need while I am down here. My goal is to use up everything I own so I brought every face mask, half used lotion and hair product I have. I’m taking my vitamins each day – hair vitamin, b-12, daily and melatonin. I’m also really committed to using a moisturizer while I’m down here to keep my face hydrated even with all of the time in the sun. At night after I shower, I like to use this face mask set while I tidy up the kitchen and run the dishwasher. I’ve noticed a big change in my skin texture since I a doing masks more often.

Drinking coffee outside in the backyard, front porch or screened in back porch
Dad making dinner every night
Having a car
Safely shopping at stores while staying far from other shoppers and wearing a mask
Visited my brother in Raleigh for the first time in more than a year
Long walks with mom
Pool days
Making my new parents house a home
Designing a craft room for my mom
Cocktails
Hanging with my parents
Change of scenery
Getting a daily work out in because of all of the steps at my parents house

I hope you are doing well during these challenging times that seem to be longer than we all thought. Take care of yourselves, friends!

Hair Washing Day Just Got Easier With New My Hair Drying Brush

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Holy humidity! It has been a hot couple of days so I am thankful that one of my recent quarantine projects was putting away winter clothes an taking out my shorts out of storage! It feels like Spring flew by because we were all inside while the seasons changed. Now that it is getting warmer, I am spending as much time as I can (safely) outside! Right now I am visiting my parents in North Carolina spending most of my day in the backyard by the pool. In Philly, we have a really nice size backyard so we were eating our meals outside whenever the weather cooperated. I’m now looking forward to my daily shower as a way to cool off but one thing I dreaded was drying my hair. Letting it air dry with the humidity makes my hair big, puffy and super frizzy. I didn’t want to spend 30 minutes with a hair straightener so I needed something that could dry my hair quickly and leave it looking styled without much fuss.

Luckily I was offered to work with Conair and try out their new Knot Dr. Detangling Hot Air Brush. It’s like the similar round brush hair dryers that were very popular a few months ago. After doing some research I read a lot of complaints about hair getting damaged because of the heat and the brush causing a lot of knots. I loved the idea of the product but knew they would not work for me. I’m happy to report that the new Conair version dries my hair quickly and since you can control the heat settings, I haven’t noticed any hair damage. The shape of the brush allows you to dry your hair straight or curled at the end making it easy to change up hair styles. For my girls with thick hair, this hair dryer works on your hair too! I prefer to let my hair air dry a bit before using the hair dryer but when I am pressed for time, I only need to spend around 10 minutes brushing my hair to get it dry and somewhat styled. It only takes me a 6 minutes total to curl my hair when it’s partially dry which is a lot faster than using my round brushes and normal hair dryer!

On my non hair wash days, I have been using the round brush hair dryer in the morning to curl my hair and use heat to tame the frizz caused by the humidity. During the summer months I want to look put together but don’t want to spend time in the heat doing it. Another great feature is how light it is! I’ve heard that other versions are heavy and bulky, the last thing I want is to get an arm workout while I try to dry my hair!

My normal hair dryer is collecting dust on a shelf right now because this hot air brush is all I need to easily and quickly dry my hair! I always use a heat protectant spray before using any hot tools and since switching to a Wet Brush I don’t have any knots in my hair. After waiting for my hair to air dry as long as I can, I’ll spray it with a heat protectant spray and section off my hair in sections to brush dry. I love it! It’s a perfect alternative to straightening your hair and using less heat.

Daily Habits I’ve Picked Up Lately

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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.

A Delicious Way to Hydrate with Nestle

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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.

Brows on Point

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Eyebrows… the one thing you can get into shape without exercising! I’ve been going mostly makeup free lately but one product I can’t go without is my eyebrow one!

VOLUME

The Brow Drama is a skinny brush that is great for percise application of a colored gel to thicken and add volume to the eyebrows. The gel quickly dries and adds some color to my usually very blonde eyebrows making them appear thicker. With the brush, I can add definition and angle them. Brush up to get a fuller look or brush across for a polished look.

SHAPE

I use the Brow Stylist Shape and Fill to outline, shape and then fill in for soft, full eyebrows. The angle tip allows me to control how thick of a line to draw and fill them in. The brush on the other end blends the pencil and shapes the brow easily. With the angled tip I will outline the outside edge of the brow and then draw in my eyebrow hairs to make it look natural. I have also noticed that the gel stays on my eyebrows for a few days unless I really scrub it off. It is a good option if you are looking for a product that lasts!

PRECISE

The ultra thin pencil helps to naturally draw in tiny brow hairs t fill in sparse areas. The Brow Stylist Designer is perfect for a quick and easy natural eyebrow.

DUPE

I recently purchased the NYX Eyebrow Pencil because it’s supposedly a great dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. I am impressed by the quality and don’t see a reason to purchase the higher end version since this one works so well.

Raise A Glass

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There are a few things I love more than hosting a party even if it’s just a small gathering with friends. Even though we can’t get together now that doesn’t stop me from putting together a fun drink setup! We have been spending a lot of time in the backyard whenever we can so I thought it would be nice to bring out some sweet tea for us to enjoy in pretty glasses last week. Instead of waiting for quarantine to end to use my fun outdoor decor, I thought we should celebrate whenever we want no matter the occasion! These faux seagrass wrapped glasses are perfect for everyday and special occasions!

I’m also so excited to share that these glasses and pitchers were a dollar spot find from Target! On one of my rare trips to Target to get a few food essentials, I gasped when I saw these cute cups! They are a really good dupe for the popular Serena and Lily seagrass wrapped glasses, and pitcher, too for a much smaller price.

I love how our backyard is coming together! I used old pillows from Target to add some color. The vase and faux hydrangeas are a recent purchase that I borrowed from our dining room. With all of this time at home, I’m working on making our home a happy place and welcoming. Even if it’s just enjoying a glass of sweet tea in the backyard enjoying the sunshine and our pretty garden!