The Friday Five

Hello Friday, and welcome back The Friday Five!

This week was ROUGH. Work was extremely overwhelming and all the shit I had to deal with yesterday pretty much sucked out some of my soul.

Working with kids is great and I love it, but there are some kids who are just beyond frustrating, no one can figure out where their bad behavior is stemming from, and even the principal is at a loss! So that's what we've been dealing with, ugh. Soooooo I decided that today I needed a mental health day because I knew that if I went into work there was no way I would have been able to give my students my best self, and I hadn't taken a sick day in a while!

I had a relaxing morning with Cosmo, watching The Grinch (for the second time since Halloween...), and cooked myself a healthy breakfast and lunch. I'm visiting CT again this weekend, so I was able to leave earlier than usual on a Friday and BEAT TRAFFIC!!!

Here are some of my favorite things that brightened this dull & difficult week:

01) This ridiculous, adorable Christmas cat house from Target. I got Cosmo a gingerbread one last year, and this year they have this double-decker Hot Cocoa Cafe with scratchers on the inside and on top. It was a little bit challenging to put together (I had to reinforce everything with tape), but how could I resist this? I plan to make this our Christmas tradition & get him the new one every year.

02) I have been loving two songs featuring the queen herself, Ariana Grande. Firstly, I randomly found Dance To This by Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande. What a mellow, sensual bop. Then there's the song that changed the break-up song game.  Fire!!!

03) As mentioned previously, I have already watched The Grinch on Netflix twice and it is November 9th. Bless Netflix for featuring this absolutely Christmas classic. I'm estimating I will be watching it approximately 35 more times before Christmas.

04) I get really into certain meals some weeks, and this week is just like that. I have been loving whipping up a quick breakfast burrito in the mornings - with egg whites, spinach, feta, salt & pepper, and a whole wheat wrap, this is literally the easiest filling breakfast (maybe besides overnight oats)!

05) Google Calendar!!!! I went absolutely ham color-coding, organizing, and setting up my Google Calendar earlier this week & I already have a good feeling that this is going to stick. I am notorious for not sticking to one consistent method of planning or setting reminders for myself. But there is something very satisfying about Google Cal syncing to my phone and seeing it all laid out on my laptop & feeling so in control of my life. Fingers crossed this sticks and helps me to adult a little more efficiently!

I will be spending time at home in Connecticut this weekend - helping a friend decorate her new home for Christmas (lol, yes already!), going to a hockey game with my parents, doing laundry, & hopefully working on some writing/grad school stuff.

I hope you have a great weekend! 

The Friday Five

This week... this week has been ROUGH.

This is the week that I want to just quit my job like a badass - drop an armful of paperwork all over the ground, grab my belongings, and stomp out the door with a big fat PEACE OUT. That is how fed up I am with work.

My dance classes were all over the place this week. They are rambunctious. It's almost Christmas. I understand this, but oh my goodness they were a struggle.

My mind is all over the place with my grad school applications. My college professors have almost all submitted their recommendations for me. I still have to speak with an admissions counselor for one school. But then yesterday I started contemplating a 20 day yoga teacher training retreat in another country... so there's that.

But! Here are five things about this week that brought the spark, yah?

Peppermint Bark
One of my coworkers recently returned to work from an injury and she brought with her a GIANT plate of peppermint bark and some kind of mystical blondie bar that contained m&m's, coconut, and walnuts. But the peppermint bark literally had to have had crack in it. I can confidently say that I singlehandedly ate two-thirds of that plate. Now my mom bought ingredients to make a similar recipe this weekend so I may actually just turn into a plate of peppermint bark.

Got it done lists
Recently I've been making got-it-done lists in my brain dump journal instead of to-do lists in my planner. It makes me feel infinitely better about myself to see all the shit I got done in a day (and it's usually a lot more than it feels like!) than all the shit I was too lazy to do and didn't get around to.
  
Full body circuits
For awhile I've been doing workouts just based on one or two body parts at a time (ex. back and biceps day, shoulder day, etc) but on Tuesday I did a full body circuit incorporating one or two exercises for EACH body part. So I did a circuit of chest, then a superset of back and biceps, a tricet of triceps, shoulders, and abs, and a tricet of legs, legs, and abs. And it was KILLER. I mainly focused on cables, but used a resistance band and kettle bells as well. I definitely recommend at least a couple days of full body.

Best of 2016 Spotify playlist
Spotify regularly kills it with my Discover playlist, but they put together a big one of all my most played songs from 2016. So basically all my favorite songs from a whole year all in one spot, and I didn't have to do any work to get them there. Thanks Spotify!

Back to the old...
I was a redhead for the later part of high school and all four years of college. Then I had a change of heart and decided I needed to go blonde. Now my hair looks and feels like straw and it's time to go back to the tried and true. I loved being a redhead! Today's the day!

& one unfavorite... CAR TAXES. How is it that every year I forget about car taxes? Well, last year I didn't have to pay them because a couple of weeks before they were due, I totaled my car. This year it's really cramping my style and pretty much all of my birthday money is just going to my unfortunate car taxes. Ugh.

HAPPY FRIDAY! do you have any holiday plans? Time is running out! My mom are and I are making peppermint bark, I hope to finish up my Christmas shopping (lol) and I would really love to see home holiday lights. My friends and I might also go to that Cirque du Soleil holiday show. We'll see!

The (Belated) Friday Five

Don't you love when you schedule a post, but then forget to finish and post it? So here we are, with a much belated Friday Five.

I just had some pretty cool stuff to talk about, so I figured I'd throw this up anyways! Better late then never.

The Christmas House
This is a Christmas attraction located in Torrigton, CT that we drove about 50 minutes to go and see. Anything to get into the Christmas spirit! The man who owns this house doesn't charge a dime to enter his twisted, magical, slightly claustrophobic winter wonderland. It's truly indescribable, but the outside of the house is coated from top to bottom in lights and decorations, but the inside is where the real magic is. His collection of moving dolls, memorabilia, working toy trains, and figurines is utterly incredible. The lighting is so dim that you can't really get photos that will do any justice to the inside of this house. His electric bill is nearly $1,800 during the time he has the lights up, so he has donation boxes all around and I'd definitely recommend donating.

Pura Vida bracelets
These bracelets are something that I didn't realize I wanted until I saw them on some random blog for 50% off for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I think they make great little gifts (and presents to yourself) because they benefit such a good cause. Plus, as you know, I loveeee Costa Rica. They really capture that effortless, easy-going, surfer gal vibe that I'm constantly striving for.

Being a redhead again
Guys, I think the blondie days are coming to a close. I've recently been obsessing over what I used to look like as a redhead and it really did wonders for my skin tone. We'll see if I can squeeze a hair appointment into my schedule before the year is over...

Dancing With The Stars
I believe this TV show is on Hulu, and L and I have been watching it pretty non-stop. It's just so joyous and over the top! We rarely agree on shows to watch, and this is one that we actually both enjoy watching together. I don't even know if we're on the current season (Laurie Hernandez?) but the props, costumes, and gorgeous dancing bodies make us both smile like little idiots.

Tumblr
This website used to be my LIFE in high school and college. Then it kind of dropped off of my radar. Not anymore. I'm using my Tumblr as a very personal dumping zone for my most personal thoughts, a tracker of my workouts and fitness inspiration, but most importantly a mood board to manifest my visions for myself. Now if only I can find more users over the age of 18... #feelingold.

What are some random things you've been loving lately? 

The Friday Five

First Friday of December, and Christmas season has officially begun. 

I am so excited. I have so many plans for December, as you know if you read my frantic and uncharacteristic December plans post. I am fully prepared to dive headfirst into the Christmas season with a holiday manicure later today, a visit to a house that looks like Christmas threw up all over it 24/7 365 days a year, decorating, making a gingerbread house, and picking out our Christmas tree. I have typed Christmas FIVE TIMES since beginning this blog post.

So that's where we're at.

Here are five things that brought me joy, intrigued me, made me think, etc this past week!

1SE (1 Second Everyday) app
This app is a movement that I had no idea about until I decided I wanted to try taking more videos in the upcoming year and making more compilation videos about cool places I go. I started searching around for video apps and lo and behold, this is the OG. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. You take 1 second long snippets from videos you can either take from the app or import from your camera roll and the app compiles them into a montage that would put Hallmark to shame. I was able to make a decently long video from clips I'd take between 2015 up until now and.... it was touching, hilarious, and SO CUTE. So a new goal for 2017 is to take a video every day so I can have an awesome 365 second long video at the end of the year.

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha
I just can't help it, I'm basic around the holidays. And that's fine. The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha stomps all over the Dunkin Donuts one, can we all agree? I'll gladly shell out the extra 2 bucks for that creaminess and real, genuine peppermint flavor (but only twice a month because I'm still on that tight budget).

Roadtrippers website
I have this pipedream of roadtripping down to Georgia in the early spring, seeing Atlanta and Savannah, and then flying home. Then I looked at prices of rental cars and that about went down the tubes. But this website is so cool! You can put in your starting and ending points and it will literally show you EVERY INTERESTING STOPPING POINT along the way. You want weird roadside attractions? National parks? A road trip entirely based on waterfall locations? Check! I'll be planning out several more doable roadtrips around New England, but a girls gotta dream, you know?

Reminiscing on past vacations
Planning out my travels for 2017 is the most exciting thing I've been doing... but also super stressful. Like for example, Norway might actually be too expensive in August. And we may want to fly one way into a country, take trains to a couple of places, and fly home from another country. And finding the cheapest way to do that is HARD, especially so far out. I've been daydreaming about my past vacations a lot, specifically Costa Rica (pictured above). I don't know how we survived because I barely planned that trip, lmao. I decided we were going in late February and we left in April. I feel like I can't quite have that mindset when trying to see several countries in Europe...

My workouts (and the Steady app)
My workout routine has been AWESOME (still thanks to a previous Friday favorite, Whitney Simmons. I love her, please go check her out on Youtube). I've been breaking them up into categories: Back & Biceps, Chest & Triceps, Shoulders, Legs, Abs, HIIT, Full Body Circuits, and LISS. Sometimes I'll do two on one day, sometimes I'll do just one. To keep track of it all so that I'm evenly working out my body, I searched high and low for a not-so-complex habit tracker app and the only one I could find that was nice and basic was Steady. It isn't perfect but it works for what I need it to!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

A Friday Ramble

Here's a pretty old picture of me - probably circa 2013? ...so I guess not that old... but wow what a shitty arabesque...

to kick this Friday ramble off with a bang, because I have absolutely no direction for this post. 

Happy Friday! 

So because I post on every Friday, I have to throw something up here and hope it STICKS, like those little jelly hands that you threw to the window of the car on long road trips when you were 7.

I am sick. I got the inevitable November cold. 

It wasn't without some effort on my part to stop it in its' tracks though. 

My arsenal included zinc tablets, vitamin C supplements, daily multivitamins, immunity tea, Mucinex, and lots of water. 

But alas, we have succumb.

So my head is too tired and congested to make sense of pretty much anything. Here's a rambly post about something that happened this week? Maybe just some stuff and nonsense and I honesty don't blame you if you stop reading this. Hell, I would. 

On Wednesday morning my gym played Christmas music every other song. I have no idea why because the music is all randomly generated but I'm not sure I was mad about it and no gym members complained so..... it's Christmas ??

I really want a cute little manatee loose tea diffuser because I have immunity loose tea that I have to put in this ugly metal sieve. You know that diffuser I'm talking about. 

I'm really wanting to support my fav bloggers in their shops around the holidays and for people's birthdays, I just keep forgetting to shop there. Like Taylor's tshirts and Bonnie's jewelry. 

Every day I woke up this week it felt like a Thursday? Every. Single. Day. Then on Thursday I woke up and it felt like a Friday. How messed up is that? 

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them comes out this weekend and you best believe that I will be front and center, clutching my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, trembling with excitement at being sucked back into the wizarding world. BEST BELIEVE.  

Thanksgiving is next week and Black Friday is exactly one week from today. 

I have to work both days, merp. But I get out an hour early on Thursday (at noon), and time and a half, so that's cool. 

Now I just have to try my absolutely best to resist online Black Friday sales while I'm standing at the front desk on Friday.... gotta stay strong. 

Have a magical weekend. 

The Friday Five

My mid-week mental health day made this week pretty much fly by. I may have just switched up my schedule up the teensiest bit, but feel like I had a completely new structure to my week!

This week was a tough, weird, emotional week for a lottttt of people. Half the country, probably. So I want to bring a smidge of joy to my blog with 5 things that made me smile (and possibly a lil teary eyed) this week, and 5 things I have left to accomplish before 2016 is over. Because I'm the ultimate overachiever in most of what I do.



5 THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE: 

1. The unimaginable joy of watching a little baby get bigger and bigger each day, and the equally soft mushy feeling of when that baby falls asleep in your arms/on your lap. CANNOT HANDLE. L's twin sister has their mom babysit pretty often since she's retired, and since we are always over their house... we get lots of baby face time. And I am not complaining because look at that face.

2. The reward of being a dance teacher. I said it before and I'll say it again - dance teachers make a gigantic difference in shaping the kids they work with. One of my pre-teen dance students has had unreal attitude problems all year - until last night.

She worked hard, she was mostly quiet, I could tell she was focused. I pulled her aside after class and told her how proud I was of her and how she has the power in her personality to completely change the whole attitude of the class; when she works hard, we all work hard. I looked at her and said, "did you feel the difference tonight? you created that positive energy." She tries to portray herself as this tough girl, but she got glossy eyed, and I did too.

I gave her a hug then found out later that she had excelled in all of her classes that night, despite a rocky home life and the odds stacked against her. Our belief in her, I hope, makes such a huge difference.

3. Almost every single person on our staff at work signed up in the break room to participate in Secret Santa 2016! The price point is only $10, but it's still so fun to give and get a lil surprise around the holidays!

4. I found a heavy duty thermos that keeps liquids hot up to 12 hours! The only problem is that now I think my coffee is still piping hot three hours later and I'm scared to sip it.

5. Despite despite despite the results of the election, I have seen a lot of people rising up to be even better versions of themselves. My female friends swearing that this is going to make them more politically active and aware, my young dance students taking interest in social issues, and countless bloggers and influencers giving resources and where to donate your time and money if and when things start to go south. In particular, this blog post of 9 actionable things you can do.


5 THINGS LEFT TO ACCOMPLISH IN 2016:

1. Tour college campuses. Cambridge and Keene, I'm coming for you.

2. Seriously seriously seriously stick to my budget. Which basically just means spend money on as few things as humanly possible.

3. Finalize my road map of 2017. Beautiful, grande, somewhat unrealistic blog post in the drafts for next month.

4. Submit grad school applications on or before NYE. Because if that doesn't say, hell yeah to 2017, I don't really know what does.

5. Ring in my birthday in a better way than an awkward Margarita's dinner, ring in the New Year in a better way than passed out, alone, on an acquaintances basement couch. Yes, both of those happened last year.

The Friday Five

Another week comes to a close and we tiptoe nearer and nearer to the end of the year.

Is that horrifying to anyone else?

This year just went by so fast. I'm at the age where I've been out of school for a significant amount of time and the years are just starting to blend together because I don't have any markers to classify them with. It's not "Crazy Junior Year" anymore, it's just... another year.

This week's theme was getting some shit done that's been sitting on my to-do list for a longggggg time. Isn't that the best freakin feeling? Ahh, the relief of crossing it off the list and asking myself why it took me so damn long to just bring myself to do it because it literally took two minutes. Laziness.

Here are five things that brought me joy, frustration, and empowerment throughout the week - or just five random things I want to talk about.

Registering to vote. The last time I voted in a presidential election I was living on campus in Bristol, RI. So not until very recently did I realize I'm not a registered voter in CT. Oops! The deadline to register in CT was November 1st, so naturally this is the date that I registered online. With the psychosis of this election happening in literally four days, it was absolutely necessary.

As a young American, I'm truly distraught over the state of this election. But there's nothing we can do because it's happening whether we want it to or not. Adios Obama. It's been cool, homie.


Mint. Something came over me this month and I decided to take control of my finances. At 23? I know, it's unheard of. After trying to figure out my budget on paper and then downloading 7 different apps (all of which I tried using for 4 minutes and then deleted), I finally settled on Mint.

Mint links up to all of your accounts and breaks down all your spending from past months so you can really see where it's all going. Personally, I'm disgusted and horrified with myself.

Six trips to CVS, and an unnecessary $200 spent at TJMaxx later...

It's time for me to start adulting and take control. So I've set up several budgets for myself, what I want to put into savings, and a master plan for paying off my credit card that involves transferring the balance to a new card that has a $0 balance transfer fee and 0% APR for the first 15 months and... a whole bunch of other super adult things like that.

It's overwhelming. But it feels good.


Why is older music so much better? I'm not sure what radio station I was listening to, but back to back two amazing throwbacks came on - Whatever You Like by T.I. and 3AM by Matchbox Twenty. Omg, does music of today suck or what? I don't know if it's because these throwbacks bring me so much nostalgia or because they actually are THAT much better.

But please!!! If you're going to leave a comment, tell me what your absolute favorite throwbacks are. From the 90's and 00's, I need to know.


Obsessing over my nails. I told myself I'd never be one of those girls who gets gel nails over and over again because then you become a slave to getting your nails done.

But here I am. And my nails are shiny as hell. And I'm damn happy about it.


Glitter phone cases - thoughts? My Lifeproof case is actually falling apart. Every week some aspect of it breaks. So regardless, it's time for a new phone case.

The problem? My phone hits pavement at least once per day.

But ooooh, I'm so jealous of those girls with the cute phone cases. The ones with pineapples and cacti on them. And cheeky little sayings. And the hard plastic ones that probably offer zero protection but have those floating sparkles and glitter suspended in a mysterious liquid that drift back and forth back and forth... mesmerizing.

Does a version of this that might actually protect my phone exist? I'm not sure. Amazon reviews tell me "probably not". The hunt continues.

That's all for my week. This is the first weekend in a long time that I just want to chill and don't have a myriad of plans. Ya girl is also trying to save dat money, so.

The only thing on the radar is a celebration of a long time friends' 26th birthday at a bowling alley that plays loud music and serves alcohol. The last time we went here we ordered probably over $200 worth of food and dranks. I may be trying to save money, but don't think I didn't factor mozzarella sticks into my budget. It's there.

Happy Friday!

The Friday Five

This week was just as full as previous weeks, and damn, it flew by.

Guess what, there's six things I want to talk about this Friday because rules are made to be broken! (but friday five just has a certain ring to it, so that's what the title shall remain). We're really living life on the edge over here.

The first snow. Does the first snow always happen in October? I feel like that's just the way Connecticut rolls.

I was eating my lunch in the break room - which is basically a closet with some cubbies in it - when my assistant manager BURST in. SNOW! SNOW! he excitedly pointed out of our giant windows at the front of the gym. I threw my hands up in disbelief. My quinoa salad went flying.

Fat flakes rained down from the sky. I moaned dramatically. So soon! I can't even believe it! But deep down inside, I love the first few snows. It's magical every year. So what if I'm still four years old. Until it's still snowing in May. Then Mother Nature can stop showing off. OVER IT.


Window shopping. As in obsessively searching websites for the perfect fall sweaters, putting them in my cart, then never checking out. Does anyone else do this? Sometimes this is enough to satisfy my shopping cravings and sometimes I lose it and pull that trigger... sometimes I go trigger happy and place a mass order of BABW candles. #NoRegrets. But I AM on the hunt for the perfect, budget-friendly, super soft sweaters and I think I'm going to check out Old Navy sometime this weekend. Wish me luck.


Lovesick by Banks. This is my immediate favorite off of my all-time favorite singers new album.

It's achy, lovey, dark, and gooey. It's everything that I want out of a Banks song. It makes me crave that obsessive, unhealthy lovesick feeling you get at the veryyyy beginning of a relationship. I mean, looking back, that feeling is always kind of icky and addictive. People lose themselves in that feeling. Like I loose myself in this song.


No make-up, no problem.
Alicia Keys is maybe on to something. I've been going PRETTY MUCH make-up free for the past week. It's been sort of liberating forcing people to look at my oily T-zone and acne scarring. Listen, when you wake up at 4am, there are some sacrifices that have to be made. Obviously hitting snooze twice is not a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Looking put together is!

Not only that, but I have no desire to put on make-up when I do have time. It just seems a little bit like a waste of time if all I'm doing is going to work, working out, then teaching dance classes. Why clog my pores to impress a bunch of senior citizens on treadmills and 8 year olds? So my natural skin has actually been looking pretty damn good!


Whitney Simmons. This Youtuber is literally life changing. She is bubbly, quirky, high energy, and yes, slightly annoying in the way a chihuahua is slightly annoying. But she sure knows her shit about fitness.

She does SHORT, to the point workout videos using gym equipment that I actually like. I've had enough of the "27 minutes, you can do it anywhere, body weight workouts" that are all over the place. I do actually enjoy picking things up and putting them down. Girls can lift too!

So far I've done her back and biceps, chest and triceps, and legs and booty videos. I really like this order and workout schedule for myself and today I plan on doing one of her shoulder and ab videos. Abs are made in the winter (I made that up, they're made in the kitchen but I'd honestly rather make brownies in the kitchen).

Being a dance teacher. Being a dance teacher is so many things. It's exhausting. It's exciting. It's frustrating. But sometimes it's so, so sweet.

Yesterday was my last batch of classes for the week. I teach 7 classes total Monday through Thursday. On Thursdays I teach 3 back to back. It ain't easy but someone's gotta do it. I had to toss back a cup of coffee just to drag myself into the dance studio. Before the class started, I was playing music, deciding what to work on in the class, when two of the little girls in my beginner class came into the room. And they absolutely melted my heart.

I watched them, slightly concerned, "making up a dance" by throwing themselves around to the music I was playing - on the ground, around the room, onto each other.

"Try not to tire yourselves out you guys, class hasn't even started!"

I said, looking at the clock and scowling because it was 5:07 and every other damn kid in the class was late.

"I just love to dance so much Miss Danielle, it makes me so happy."

Cue heart melting into a puddle on the floor. This is why I do this, I thought as I gave this little girl a hug and tried to hide my teary eyes. Thank you Kailin, for the sweet reminder. But cartwheels are still not allowed in modern class.

The Friday Five

Do you know that saying, "the days drag but the years fly by?"

Lots of college kids like to say this when they wake up one day and suddenly it's graduation time. I disagree with this statement, because at least in my opinion, THE DAYS FLY BY AND THE YEAR FREAKIN' FLEWWWWW BY. 

Even this week went by in the blink of an eye. Maybe it's because I'm so busy? I cram so much into each day, but sometimes it feels like I don't even get anything done. Like someone who's walking up a down escalator.

This week I decided to bring back the friday five series because I may not always have a ton of cool favorites from each week, but I'll always have random shit to talk about. And I spent several hours yesterday going back through my blog archives, recapping all the cool things I used to do and write about and I thought, you know what, I need to bring that back asap.

thinking about: how a plane crashed into a main road no more than five minutes away from my house this week. Apparently it was an intentional act, you can read about it here. It's crazy that something like this can touch my small and non-descript town. It should make me feel unsafe, but I'm so desensitized to violence and terrorism, that it just kind of weirds me out. How can something like THAT happen HERE? But it can happen anywhere. 

planning: a birthday getaway to a log cabin in Vermont. A random road trip to Canada. A day trip to Rhode Island, I haven't been there in a hot minute and I'm starting to miss that place. A Halloween/Autumn themed cookout this Saturday, complete with "Beware of Zombies!" caution tape in the bushes. A visit to an orchard this weekend for pumpkin picking and apple crisp and cider donuts, oh my! 

excited for: my hair transformation this afternoon! I am almost 100% positive that I'm gonna go for a pinky rosy purpley ombre type thing. It's just time for a big change, so much in my life has felt stagnant for a long, long time. I may not be able to change all of my circumstances, but this is one thing that I do have complete control over. Stay tuned for the before and after pictures, weeee! 

eating: kale, kale, and more kale. I have had a kale salad every day, sometimes twice a day. Farmer's markets are my favorite place to buy the green stuff and I loveeeee me a weekend farmer's market. My favorite way to eat kale is tossed with oil and lemon, with either goat cheese or parmesan, sprinkled with walnuts. YUM. and #healthy. 

feeling like: I just need to figure out how to bring the magic back into my life! I feel like every day is the same, monotonous, droning on and onnn. Then I do get to do some fun stuff on the weekend, but I'm not really living in the moment because I don't appreciate it and then it's over. Just like that. Reading posts from March and April in my blog were eye opening. My days seemed so full and so full of wonder and wandering. I did so much, especially on the weekends! Rest and relaxation is fine, but feeling restless is something I've dealt with on and off for... forever. I need to get my magic back and find something to settle my restless feelings.

p.s. I've been blogging a lot lately and it's been really fun. I love blogging, I love finding my voice. My writing style has changed so much over the past year. Anyways, if you missed anything here are some DIY Halloween costume ideas tried and tested by yours truly, a totally necessary Target haul, my ultimate hair dreams, and my goals (but not really goals) for this month.

Happy Friday! 
What's going on in your world this week? 
Leave me a comment, it means so much to engage with anyone sweet enough to read this lil ol blog. And you can always follow me on Bloglovin!

THE FRIDAY FIVE

Hello, hi! Somehow we made it through another long work week. I am truly counting down the days until my first days off in over four months (next weekend!!!) Here are five things I've been feeling, experiencing, loving, hating, eating, smelling, etc. throughout this week.

LOVING: our fantastic gym members. An older man named Bill brought us two huge containers of fruit on Wednesday. Another older guy dropped off $20 for "Easter refreshments" yesterday. And today, this hilarious couple named Freddy and Tammy brought us this absolutely ridiculous, festive, and unreal Easter basket, stuffed with chocolate, bunny ears, wind-up toys, and I swear to you, over 50 nips. Of alcohol. I don't drink much anymore, but bless Tammy and Freddy.

CLICKING: these cool links. How Hannah Gale edits her Instagram pics (life changing). Why you should probably preserve your body when you die (creepy but extremely thought provoking). How to air dry your hair into mermaid waves (also life changing).

TRYING: bullet journaling. The owner of the dance studio I work at is into this, and as a person who drools over all things planning, organization, stickers, washi tape, to-do lists (the list - no pun intended there - goes on), I knew that I NEEDED to try this. I got a grid style moleskin from Staples last week and went to town on it the past few days. It's not as involved as using my Erin Condren Life Planner, so I'll feel like it's something I'll actually keep up with. And tbh, the pressure to buy all these stickers for my weekly spreads was burning a big ass hole in my wallet. Bullet journaling pretty much only requires neat handwriting and fancy pens. Both of which I have plentyyyy of.

WATCHING: Girls on HBO. How did it take me so long to get into this? I was skeptical but now I totally get it. It's like the average girl who isn't a felon's version of Orange Is The New Black.

PLANNING: this weekend's day trip to Rhode Island. Where we're going to have Easter dinner with family. How I can convince Lucas that we need to go to the Nike outlet store because a gym member told me she got an awesome zip-up there for only $30(!!!) Next weekend's dance performance and extended stay at the Bristol Harbor Inn! And hoping for nice weather so we can do the Cliff walk in Newport.

Week of workouts:
Monday - legs and abs day with personal trainer
Tuesday - taught two hip hop dance classes
Wednesday - 1.5 mile walk outside, Spin class at night
Thursday - taught 2 Spin classes back to back!
Friday - rest day

I have been hitting the cardio way harder then ever before with these Spin classes and loving being able to walk/jog outside. I was actually always way more into strength training than cardio. It's important to have a healthy balance, so next week I'll be sure to try and hit those weights at least two days of the week!

Happy Friday and I hope you have a ballin' Easter weekend !

THE FRIDAY FIVE

ECSTATIC ABOUT: FINALLY GETTING MY CAR. It's exactly what I wanted and it's adorable and I just want to name it and lay in it and vacuum it and love it to pieces. It's a 2012 Honda Civic Ex with a sunroof which I wasn't expecting at all. I was at the car dealership yesterday for almost four hours, so driving away with it was like the ultimate success. Also, driving a car that doesn't sputter and shake when going over 65 mph is bizarre for me. I am now living a life of luxury.

DISAPPOINTED IN: that Clinique lotion that I posted about from last weekend. I just can't get into it. The texture is weird and it has this strange chemically smell. I also didn't notice a single difference in my skin, and my skin has actually gone to shit completely since I stopped using my holy grail (but expensive af) Nude Milk Serum (which is of course sold out on Sephora.com right now so I cannot provide a link). The bottle is so fucking tiny but the product inside is literally miraculous for my tone, texture, and evenness of my skin.

PREPARING FOR: teaching Spin classes! I start next Thursday, ah! This weekend is a time for me to get my playlists together and pick some good songs! Lucas and I are going to Rhode Island this weekend so I can listen to some good music on the way down and back and have him save them for me.

TRAVELING TO: Bristol/Newport, RI! I have a dance rehearsal on Sunday morning so Lucas and I are going down tomorrow morning and staying in a hotel on Saturday night. We hope to do the Newport Cliff Walks tomorrow afternoon. He's never done them before and I think it's going to be a beautiful day in Rhode Island to go exploring.

PROUD OF: my workout schedule this week! Read about it below.

Monday: 20 minutes on elliptical and legs day with personal trainer.
Tuesday: preparing for and teaching two hip hop dance classes.
Wednesday: Zumba!
Thursday: Spin class!
Friday: planning to do 20 minutes on quick upper body circuit.

What are you most proud of from this past week? This is probably the most active week I've had since January but I'm not killing myself each workout, so I feel that it's probably more maintainable. I'm also extremely proud and utterly shocked that I still haven't eaten a single dessert item or anything obviously loaded with sugar (candy, chocolate, cookies, ice cream, etc). I guess I have a boatload more willpower than I've ever given myself credit for!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

THE FRIDAY FIVE

THINKING ABOUT: how strange and unlucky this week was! On Monday night I fell off a chair during one of my dance classes and the corner of the chair went straight into the side of my stomach, leaving me with a gigantic deep bruise. On Tuesday there was a "snow storm" that turned out to be just rain and my Tuesday night dance classes were cancelled for the third week in a row. On Wednesday there was a crazy thunder/lightning storm that cracked a tree in half in our backyard and it landed on our shed. Also on Wednesday someone bought the car at a dealership that I was hoping to buy. And yesterday I had an allergic reaction to new laundry detergent and was itching my legs so hard they almost started bleeding and L had to bring new pants to my work for me to change into. Should I start carrying around a four leaf clover/lucky rabbit's foot, orrrrr.....

LISTENING TO: two songs, one which I Shazammed in a Spin class, the other which I found on one of my favorite music apps, Soundcloud. Something About You by Majiid Jordan and the Roses & Money Mash-Up by 3LAU. UGH, so good. Electric hip-hop, EDM, whatever you wanna call, this is my favorite genre of music right now.

FEELING LIKE: it's time to make a change. I've been really unhappy with my eating and work out habits for awhile now. I'm not planning anything out in advance and because of that, I have nothing to stick to and hold myself accountable for. It's time to start color coding my life and getting my act back together.

PROUD OF: how productive I was last night. Some nights I have a hard time finding any motivation to get things done because I'm SO TIRED from my 5am-1pm work shift during the day. Yesterday I just didn't press pause and kept on going and going. I threw in a load of laundry, plucked my eyebrows, did a skin treatment, painted my nails, changed the batteries in my vanity mirror (I know this is a small thing but it's legit something I would put off from being too tired), packed my breakfast and lunch, set my clothes AND makeup for the next morning, folded laundry & put it away, and tidied my room. Normally I'd lay in bed for four hours watching Youtube videos. Made a to-do list and crossed all that shit off and I was feeling goooood.

EXCITED FOR: Nice weather this weekend. Possibly hiking??? Making some Spin profiles and playlists. Going to Sephora and getting some new skincare, although I can't decide between this, this, or my tried and trusted (but so expensive) Nude milk serum. I have a $50 gift card but with great Sephora gift cards comes great responsibility. Getting a new car. Planning out a month's worth of meals for March. How great that illiteration sounds?! March's Monthly Meals. If that doesn't have a ring to it, I don't know what does!

THE FRIDAY FIVE

WATCHING: Every episode of Worst Chef's in America I can find either on Netflix or On Demand, and this season of the The Biggest Loser, which I didn't realize ALREADY STARTED. My boyfriend has never even heard of this show so I'm trying to make him as obsessed with it as I am.

READING: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. This is such a good book, oh my god. It's the kind of book you want to read on your beach vacation by the pool with a little beach umbrella in your alcoholic beverage. It's a fast-paced mystery that feels light and fluffy. I love it.

EATING: like shit. This has been a terrible eating week for me. I'll eat healthy and then decide to gorge myself with leftover Valentine's Day candy and cupcakes. I think it's been especially hard this week since we're dog sitting for L's parents while they're in FL and his mom is like America's next great baker so there's so many delicious sugary things in their house. My house has a shit ton of packaged food but none of it tastes especially great so it's easy to say no to.

ANTICIPATING: Spinning certification is on Sunday! It's in Newburgh, NY (wherever that is) and I'm carpooling with two of my coworkers even though we haven't pulled straws to see who yet. I mean, obviously not me since my car would probably get us broken down in the middle of the highway. But, I'm so excited although worried that I'm going to be so tired on Sunday to begin my busy week the next day! Ah!

LOVING: when L cooks for me (pictured above). My Sugar Rose Fresh lip treatment. My new hair. How early the sun rises now compared to last month. Minimal makeup and long eyelashes. A weekend ready to be filled with fun plans.

THE FRIDAY FIVE

WATCHING: A winter wonderland outside. Here I was, thinking we were all done with snow for the winter, having only gotten a measly 5 inches that melted in about 5 days. This compared to last winter where I was regularly shoveling 2 feet of snow off my car before heading to work. BUT NOPE. We’re set to get 5-8 inches here in grimy Connecticut and all my teacher friends have the day off from school. How about coming to the gym to keep me company?….

THINKING ABOUT: The food industry. I’m currently being inundated with all of this new-to-me info about the food industry and all the fucked up shit that goes down in it. It’s literally like a conspiracy theory. I’m in the process of reading The Body Book by Cameron Diaz, earlier this week I watched part of the Netflix doc “Fed Up“, & yesterday my mom brought home a book from THE DOLLAR STORE (I must visit this Dollar Store ASAP) called Sugar, Salt, Fat all about how what you’re eating is basically killing you. Go read or watch these things and inform yourself!

LISTENING TO: Cannot stop playing Sugar by Robin Shulz and Roses by the Chainsmokers over and over and over again. I don’t really know what genre this music is but I’ve been really diggin it lately.

EXCITED FOR: Catching up on The Bachelor tomorrow, and SUPER BOWL SUNDAY. I may not have any plans yet, but this is probably gonna be my biggest cheat day of the year and I plan on eating my greasy, cheesy, fried heart out. Not sure who I want to win yet.. Peyton Manning because it may be his last game? Or the Panthers because I have family in the Carolinas and their colors are prettier?

FEELING LIKE: kinda crappy tbh. I made the mistake on Monday of making the bold claim, “I haven’t been sick once yet this whole year!” *knock on wood* Apparently the wood I knocked on was wood textured plastic because I woke up this morning with a killer sore throat. Between the nasty kids I teach dance to and my gross coworkers spreading their germs everywhere it was only a matter of time. At least I have the weekend to wrap myself in a blanket with hot tea, Apple TV, and a hundred bowls of chicken noodle soup…

Who’s kidding who, I’ll probably go to the gym tomorrow for three hours.
HAPPY FRIDAY to any of you beautiful people reading this.