Millennial Skincare with Lancome

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removing laziness from my routine

I want to start taking a break from social media. I feel like whenever I have a free minute, I am scrolling on my phone or I am constantly refreshing on Twitter. I also wanted to take a break from laying in bed and watching Netflix before bed. I have spent too many nights wide awake watching Netflix instead of getting enough sleep. Making this promise sounded a lot easier when I made it! When I get home from work, usually around 10pm, I just want to put on pajamas and curl up into bed. I love to take off of my work clothes and put on comfy sweatpants that are too big, a cozy t-shirt and fuzzy socks. With my hair in a messy bun, I usually crawl into my bed and snack with some Netflix.

After work I really want to veg out, get some takeout and spend my night in bed leaving my to do list for the next day. But now that I have eliminated Netflix and scrolling on Instagram for hours from my nightly ritual, I find that I have a lot more free time.

If you are feeling lazy or unmotivated, here are some better ways to spend your evenings…

Organize

After work I still came home and immediately put on my comfy clothes. However, now that I don’t have any distractions I have a lot more time on my hands. I always make plans to pick up clothes off of my floor, clean up my bathroom before bed or to put laundry away- but it never usually happens. This week I put on a Spotify playlist and straightened up my room, switched out my winter for my spring wardrobe and cleaned my bathroom. Having a clean space only makes your night more enjoyable and you can finally get that big project out of the way.

Make Your Bed Everyday

This is definitely my hardest commitment to keep! When I wake up in the morning, I drag my feet to the bathroom to wash my face and get ready for work. The last thing on my mind is making my bed to unmake it later that night. It only takes a few minutes in the morning, but seeing a pretty bed all made up is a nice thing to have in the morning. You can’t have your life 100% together, but you can make your bed and at least it looks like your life is put together!

Read a Book

I started my week with 5 books next to my bed that are waiting to be read. Now that you have a clean room, light a candle, crawl into bed and read a book. A few months ago, I would read a few chapters a night before bed and it is something I really miss doing.

Pick Up a New Hobby

You know those awkward orientation games where someone asks what your favorite hobby is and then you realize that you actually don’t have one. Well everyday I am reminded that I don’t have a hobby and this is something I want to change. Right now my hobbies include walking around HomeGoods looking at pieces I want in my future apartment and walking around Target buying things I don’t need. I am looking for a new hobby that is a bit cheaper… the next item on my to do list is to do some weeding and getting the garden ready for summer. I like any hobby that keeps me outdoors in the sunshine!

Night Time Yoga

You don’t need to pay for a yoga class at an expensive studio when you have Youtube in your own home. I started to do a 15 minute yoga video before bed and when my head hits the pillow I fall asleep a lot easier with my body stretched and aligned. If you are looking for something more challenging, Tone It Up has amazing 15 minute work out videos that are great no matter where you are on your fitness journey.

Pamper Yourself

I have a million products that are sitting in my bathroom cabinet that are rarely used. I am committing more time at night to take off my makeup, wash my face, exfoliate and use the right skincare at night. Once I started the Lancome skincare challenge, I have a reason to wash my face at night and moisturize my face in the morning. It’s a nice winding down routine I started at night right before bed. Even if you don’t fuss much about your skin, at least wash your face every night and use a face cream before bed. Your 50 year old self will thank you!

Cook Dinner

My dinner lately consists of a drive thru or a meal that was frozen in a box that took 15 minutes to make. In college, my roommates and I spent a lot more time in the kitchen making dinner than I do now. It is something I miss doing, but cooking for one person isn’t all that exciting. I also have a lot more food restrictions now than I did before. A pain in the butt when I want to make dinner. This week I spent a little more time in the kitchen than I usually do and it is something I hope to keep up with. Don’t forget the wine 😉

Make Your Lunch the Night Before

The first step is to go food shopping and stock your fridge with food that you actually like to eat. I started to make my lunch the night before, and instead of throwing an apple and a diet coke in my purse on my way running out of the house, I actually pack enough food for me not to be hungry all day. It takes me five minutes, but saves me so much time and eliminates stress in the morning. I got a cube sistema plastic tuperware container for lunch that has little cubbies for different food and I pack it up the night before giving me enough food for the next day.

 How do you keep yourself motivated during the week? Let me know in the comments so we can learn from each other.

start your month off right

Do you ever blink and then realize that another month has passed? Sometimes I am surprised when I have to write the number 1 on a form because I didn’t even realize a new month had started. To make sure I take advantage of every day, I like to spend some time planning and starting the month with some rituals. Since May is starting I thought I would share some of my rituals just in case you find them helpful.

1// Look at a calendar I can’t tell you how many times I go on Facebook to discover it is one of my friends birthdays and I forgot to send  a card. I like to look at my planner on the first day of each month and see what I have going on. Then I make a long to do list of things I need to do that month like schedule a haircut, check when I have a doctors appointment or plan time to blog. An important part of my routine is to write down in my planner when I have bills due so I can budget accordingly for them. Trying to avoid those late fees!

2// Declutter your life I take time to tidy up in the beginning of each month. Clean up my room, organize my closet a bit, and delete my emails. I also take time to back up all of my photos to my laptop or Google Photo and then delete unnecessary photos on my phone. Start your month off with no laundry piling up and get a few other chores out of the way. I know this may not be for everyone, but I also get my car cleaned every month. There is a car wash near me that cleans the inside and outside of your car. It is a silly expense, but it makes me happy every month to treat myself.

 

3// Start off the month with a kitchen stocked with food Seems silly, but stock up on items that you know you need the first week of the month. Stock up on cereal, snacks, K Cups and other nonperishable items that you eat a lot of. It is something I have neglected to do this month and my morning stop to grab a bagel and coffee before work definitely adds up!

4// Have An Empty Hamper  I have such a large wardrobe that I usually only do laundry once a month. The first week of the month is when I get a few loads of laundry done and I try to hang it up as soon as it comes out of the dryer. I also walk around the house and grab bath towels, kitchen sink towels, floor mats and anything else I can grab to throw in the wash.

5// Switch up your coffee table decor Not every month has a holiday, but I like to change my decor up every month. It makes being at home a little more special. I have a bunch of throw pillows on rotation and changing my decor around my home gives me an excuse to do a quick dusting as I go.

6// Clean out your purse or bag Now is a good time to clean out your purse and throw out those receipts that are building up! I am one of those people that carry their lives in their purse which is great when someone needs hand sanitizer or a pen. But these things can quickly build up and make my bag very heavy. Take some time and empty out your purse and then stock it with things you know you need. I keep a pen, a small notebook, deodorant, hand sanitizer and candy in my purse at all times.

 

 

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taking a break from the blog

On Sunday nights I have this ritual where I write some posts for the blog for the week and have them scheduled throughout the week. I like having content or pictures ready for the week ahead so I constantly have new material coming to the blog. My blog is my happy place and I love to add content to it. It is my little corner of the internet. I don’t really care about how many views I get on a blog post or how many people visit my site. I recently have had a lot of amazing opportunities and received some cool blogger mail for my online presence, but I would still have this blog regardless. It is a place that brings me joy, and nothing can take that away.

This Sunday however, I got home from work and crawled into bed without eating dinner. I filled my bed with snacks, guys- there were so many donut holes consumed! – and put on the Henrietta Lacks movie that recently came out. I ended a long workweek with a difficult 9-hour shift at work on Sunday as well as a lot of personal stuff going on in my life at the same time. I didn’t have any energy to work on the blog. I have photos waiting to be uploaded for a post and a post written waiting for photos. But I just didn’t have the energy to write about how wonderful my life is. I felt like it all hit me at once. I had to crawl into bed and just submit to feeling bad for myself. For so many years I would say “I’m fine” over and over again. When really I knew I wasn’t and needed a break. While I was stuffing my face with donuts not caring about the crumbs going everywhere, I reached out to some of my closest friends. We all have bad days and sometimes it is amazing to be able to just text a friend that you are having a horrible day and not have to go into that much detail. I hate it when people feel sorry for me or try to solve what is troubling me. When I reached out to some of my friends, they just had to respond that they were there for me and it brought me so much joy. Unfortunately, my closest friends live hours away in different states, but when they say they have a place for me to crash, I know that I could show up on their doorsteps and I would be welcomed with open arms.

I have a few blog posts that are ready to be shared on the blog for this week that are sitting in my drafts. However, I don’t want to be that person is always sharing photos of me smiling and looking perfect all the time. To be honest, I have a giant zit on my cheek that can’t even be covered with layers of makeup. I have bad days once in a while, too! When I first started Blonde Rosie it wasn’t all just outfit pictures and fluff. I tried to write some life advice from my own experiences that my friends and new online friends could learn from. I decided to take a break from the blog this week so there was no Friday Favorites and there will be no new content on the blog this week.

This isn’t groundbreaking news and the Earth will not stop with the absence of new content on Blonde Rosie. I hope to disconnect from social media and try to find some creativity and happiness from the world around me this week. Right now whenever I am on Instagram or Facebook, I just see shoes I cannot afford right now and someone else got engaged. For now I am dealing with real adult issues like figuring out my finances, trying to decide where my career is headed and trying to finally make big step of moving out of my parents house. I want to spend some time at night with a face mask and a good book.

I would love to engage with my readers more and chat about life. I hope that I am not the only millennial trying to figure out life and making a few wrong turns while I am at it. Feel free to message me about what you like to see on the blog and what you want to see more of. Until then, I am going to do some yoga, spend a night in bed with a face mask and a good book while putting my phone down.

Chat soon, Ro

XO

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How To Make Your Space Look Clean

img_5393One of my favorite things to do is to get on my hands and knees and clean my kitchen floor. Not you? That’s okay! You don’t have to like to clean to keep your space looking clean. During the week, I often come home and am too tired to clean up after myself, however I have a few tricks to be messy while still making your space look clean. Keep reading to find out how I pull it off! Continue reading “How To Make Your Space Look Clean”

13 Problems I have with 13 Reasons Why

I have to admit that I have started this post multiple times and struggled to find the right words. I did some Googling to make sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this way while I watched. Turns out, there are a lot of people who have similar opinions of the series. It is a show I had to see from start to finish, but I struggled watching it. Often having to turn it off and come back to it a few hours later. I wanted to write this where I did not offend anyone, but at the same time I wanted to share that I had issues with this series.  Continue reading “13 Problems I have with 13 Reasons Why”