Sunday Kind of Love

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you all slept in and cozied up with a mug of coffee. I’m spending the day reading and visiting with family, but before I do that, I wanted to share a couple of things I love from across the vast Internet. This week has a fitness theme, since I went to the gym twice yesterday and am now basically immortal.

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  1. I started doing yoga every Saturday morning at my local gym and it has been an exhilarating change of pace! I find myself looking forward to it all week. I’ve been an on-again off-again yogi for about ten years, so I’ve got some pretty sweet gear—like I’ve said on the blog before, beautiful things inspire me! My lululemon yoga bag (similar), lime green mat & matching towel, and block accompany me to every session (thanks for the presents, mom!). lulu’s stuff is great, but every piece is a million dollars, so I’ll be over here, perusing their sale section.
  2. Over the holidays, Girlfriend Collective had a free bra promotion when you bought a pair of leggings! So, of course, I bought myself a set of these leggings and this adorable bra. I had first heard of Girlfriend a few years ago when they were first starting out—they had a deal where you could get a free pair of leggings for only the cost of shipping! They quickly became one of my favorite brands, with their focus on sustainability and humane labor practices.
  3. This Rebecca Minkoff duffle was inexplicably inexpensive on Amazon, so I had to snag it. Of course I have a designer gym bag—I’m the bougie-est person on the planet. If I could retroactively gather the money I’ve spent on handbags in the past five years, I could easily pay for grad school. Some other gym bags I was peepin’ are this one, this one, and this one.
  4. On that note, I’ve been tracking my water intake like a psycho lately. I’ve always been really good about #stayinghydrated, but nothing keeps me more in check than my reusable water bottles. I usually rock a 32oz Camelbak, but please get me one of these in every single color available. If I’m being honest, I’ll probably cave and buy this one today. I’ve heard great things about S’well bottles, but I cannot bring myself to shell out $30+ for a vessel to hold (free) water. Even if it’s this pretty. Maybe I’ll do it in honor of the Women’s March (S’well is a badass woman-owned company!) P.S. Even though I’m not drinking right now, the 25oz. S’well can hold a bottle of wine…food for thought!
  5. I just started listening to Whitney Cummings’ book, I’m Fine…and Other Lies, on Audible, and I am loving it so far! It’s hilarious (no surprises there), but also oddly inspiring. Whitney talks at length about her many forays into therapy, which tugs at my heartstrings like Joanna Newsom on a harp. Next time I have to go to the gym without my husband (the horror), I’ll be glad to have Whitney as an elliptical companion.
  6. I got into sneakers (and by got into sneakers, I mean, condescended to own them) a few years ago, but now that I actually have an excuse to wear them, I might have to step my game up beyond my clearance Nikes. These are gorgeous, I am positively lusting over these, and these must enter my life immediately.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day off, and buckle up for the work week!

xoxo,

c

Detours

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Me wearing athletic sneakers = the apocalypse is nigh (they Reeboks tho)

So, maybe I’m having a nostalgia moment and listening to Teenage Dream by Katy Perry on a Monday night while I cook dinner. Maybe. It’s been a crazy week.

Without going into too much detail, my brother-in-law-to-be had a pancreas transplant last week. Obviously all surgeries are hard on the patient (and the patient’s loved ones), but this is an auspicious surprise. He has suffered from diabetes for almost 30 years, and now he gets a new lease on life. It’s truly amazing, and I am privileged to know someone who epitomizes survival. Seeing a family member go through such life-altering (and potentially life-threatening) procedure really puts things into perspective. Every day is precious, and should be approached as such.

The lesson I’m taking from this is to chase my own happiness. If I want to listen to a 5-year-old Katy Perry album and drink a hard cider instead of doing homework, that’s my prerogative. I will allot time for my responsibilities, and maintain my work ethic, of course. But when I look back on the past few years, some of my best and most cherished memories are spontaneous moments. Detours.

Detours are inconvenient, to be sure, but they allow you to reach the exact same destination. The past 5 years of my life have been a giant detour. I should have graduated from college in 2013. But if I hadn’t made the mistakes I’d made, and strayed from my path, I may never have met the love of my life and his incredible family. If I hadn’t dropped out of private school, I may never have discovered my passion for whole foods and cooking. If I hadn’t left a stable job that made me unhappy, I may never have ended up in retail/fashion.

Some of us stay on the straight & narrow our whole lives. Some of us are late bloomers. I’d argue that neither approach is “better”. Because we all arrive at the same destination: happiness.