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!

Friday Favorites 6.5

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I woke up today and legitimately thought it was Saturday. It’s been one of those weeks that was long, tiring, and heavy on our hearts. Because of what was going on in the world, I paused scheduled posts on the blog and didn’t post anything superficial on my Instagram. No one cared about what I was wearing, how I washed my face and what I was thinking this week truthfully. Like many others, I stopped to listen, read and educate myself. I attended a protest in Philadelphia on Saturday and it’s hard to describe but I was so moved by the amount of families with young children, friends walking together, different groups of people talking to one another and walking side by side. I’ve been to other protests but this one was different. This one was taking a stand that enough was enough. The media will focus on the “violent protesters” and the damage on the city that followed all week. I’ll admit that the smashing of windows, helicopters and loud sirens kept me up at night and made me uncomfortable but that feeling of being uncomfortable reminded me how uncomfortable racism is in this country. We should feel uncomfortable as we look back at what led to today and look at the systematic racism that exists. I spent years in inner city schools and talked to students about the challenges they faced. I’ve known for years that this country created legal ways to discriminate and a culture that allowed an us versus them way of life. This movement is here to stay and I hope more positive change will continue.

On Friday mornings I like to sit down at my dining room table with a cup of warm coffee and check my emails before I get to work on writing my Friday Favorites post. During the week I jot things down in my planner that I’m loving so I don’t forget. This week felt different. There are a lot of posts out there about resources, restaurants to go to and ways to take action. Instead of adding to the noise, I wanted to focus on resources, things I loved and how I am moved by this week personally.

I watched the movie 13th Amendment when it first came out on Netflix and think it did a great job of explaining how discrimination became legal. I’ve been watching Mrs. America on Hulu and it looks at the tension during the women’s movement when it came to race and lesbians while trying to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed. Film allows us to learn and absorb information so I will continue to watch movies that expose our faults as a country and as humankind.

The New York Times
Twitter
Resources shared on Instagram
What my peers are saying
What people who may not look like me are saying
Local community journalism

The Calm App is free for one year if you have an American Express credit card.

Philadelphia coming together this week.

Voices being heard, voices joining together to become louder.

Not tolerating statements that lack action from politicians, companies, peers.

Listening to Pod Save America and The Daily podcasts.

What I’m Loving Right Now

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I know I am not alone with trying to stay busy and sane during COVID. Personally, I like to stay busy because it prevents me from overthinking about the negatives and worrying what is to come. I’m not pretending that everything is fine and that I can’t get sick, I am acknowledging facts backed by science and following CDC guidelines. I try to focus on the positives and make a little gratitude list in my head before bed. I’ll journal in the mornings and thought I would share some of the things I am loving right now. This list isn’t full of the cutest clothes, new tech gadgets or going places. For the first time since we moved into this house I am finally making it a home. It was already decorated and had my things in it for a year, but now I am at home and finding things to love here. Life is always a competition about who looks best, who has the most but right now we are all in comfy clothes, messy hair and no makeup because we don’t need to compete anymore. A lot of us feel the same and experience similar struggles – grocery shopping, financial strains and at times, boredom. Instead of focusing on the negative, I’m making myself focus on the things I am loving right now during my time of quarantine. And who knew this list would be so long?

Making dinner every night
I know it sounds silly because everyone makes dinner but I’ve been able to actually make homemade meals almost every night of the week. It’s been a nice break from frozen foods, quick and easy options while I find more time consuming recipes that require a little more work.

Pots of coffee
We recently had to get a new Keurig since my old one broke so Jake got the K-Duo so we could make pots of coffee as well as individual cups. Since we are home all day I love to make a cup of coffee and then Jake and I will refill our cups throughout the day. Seems silly but I feel like such an adult grabbing another cup of coffee before heading back to my makeshift desk at our dining room table.

Subscriptions
Thank goodness I signed up for a few things before COVID really shut things down. It’s no secret that I love Grove Collaborative since I’ve talked about the company so many times. A few weeks into quarantine, I received my Billie Razor subscription with new razors. The last thing on my mind was to walk a mile to CVS and get new razors so having them delivered was great because I didn’t even have to think of it. I’ve loved Amazon in the past but now more than ever I’m using it! My Alexa will notify me when it’s time to order more coffee based on how much coffee Amazon thinks I’ve had since my last order. Now coffee is on a subscription! Obviously we won’t be at home forever but this experience has made me realized how great it is to have stuff sent to my home on a subscription service so I don’t even have to worry about running out. Find out what works for you and see what subscription services fit your lifestyle.

Slow Sundays
Okay, so here is where you can really find gratitude during Sundays. Do you remember Sundays? They were often referred to as scary Sundays because there was a rush to get everything done (clean, laundry, food shop) so you were ready for the week and also needed to relax so you could decompress from the previous week and get ready for the next one. In our house Sundays have turned into slow Sundays. There is no rush to get out of bed and when we do, we’ll make a fun breakfast and drink coffee while we watch a classic Disney movie. There is no rush to get errands done and our only chores are to change the sheets and take out the trash. Enjoy the slowdown that we have right now. Your body needs it!

Eating Locally
So while we are making dinner a lot, we are still ordering in to support local restaurants once a week. Before our work schedules were so busy that we could never make dinner reservations because one of us would always have to work late last minute. Once we got home we would be too tired to cook and just order from the same places. Now when we order in, it’s a nice treat since we don’t order food as much anymore and can’t go out to restaurants. We also love supporting the local restaurants right now in Philly and have found a few new places we never would have tried before!

Cleaning & Organizing
I’ve been joking with my family that I am running out of things to clean because organizing and cleaning my home is keeping me sane. Some days I will spend hours doing a deep clean and others I just pick a cabinet or something small that won’t take much time. I’ve also gotten in the habit of tidying up the house before bed and it has been a game changer! It is so nice to start the day with a clean first floor and while i wait for my coffee to brew, I’ll listen to The New York Times The Daily podcast while I empty the dishwasher. It’s little things we have the time to do now to keep our homes clean and get it organized. Take advantage of it!

Planning
Okay so I know we can’t do anything or see anyone, but this has inspired me to plan trips with friends and family. In the past we all made valid excuses because work, life, responsibilities and couldn’t go places but now I think I can get people to agree on a trip! I’m also party planning because I cannot wait to host a party with friends. I’m loving this book for creative themes. If anything this experience has taught me the importance of taking time for experiences or materialistic things.

Organizing Photos
I’ve made it a rule to be semi-productive while watching tv so I’ve been organizing my photos. I keep all of my photos saved on Google Photos because I can easily get to photos on the app. I’m deleting old screenshots, making albums and tagging people so I can have my photos better organized. Take it a step further and organize printed out pictures if you have them. I finally finished making my travel scrapbook after having it in a box for the last 4 years!

Deleting Clutter
Not only am I on a mission to purge clutter in my house but I am also deleting clutter on my laptop. I’m backing up documents on my Google Docs and adding folders to keep things organized as well as deleting unnecessary items. I love using Google Docs and Google Photos because everything is in one place! To get even more organized, I’m adding peoples addresses to my phone book and to their contact in my phone and adding their birthdays to my paper planner and my Google Calendar. It’s taking time but I know I am going to love having everything in folders and backed up!

Spending Time With Family
Finally this is my favorite thing about quarantine. Since we are all slowing down and missing our loved ones, my family and I have been having a weekly book club on Sundays. It’s less about literary content and more of an excuse to see each other on Zoom every week. We don’t have to get dressed up, it’s nothing fancy other than just saying hi and sharing funny stories about the week and talking about old times. I’m convinced my family is keeping the postal service in business because we have been sending homemade cards back and forth to each other which has been a lot of fun to make and receive!