life lately.

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Hey friends! It’s been a while, huh?

I hate to be that blogger that’s always like OMG sorry I went so MIA, but…seriously - sorry 😉 I knew the past few weeks were going to be a bit crazy for me, but I didn’t anticipate that I wouldn’t be able to squeeze blog posts in.

Since my last life update post from my (second) weekend in Montauk, I’ve:

* spent a week at my family’s shore house in South NJ
* had my cousin Liz’s bachelorette weekend
* spent about a week in Cali! I stayed in Venice, Santa Barbara, and Santa Monica
* been in Liz’s wedding this past weekend

Throw in my previous 2 trips to Montauk and Vegas back in June and…well, let’s just say it’s been quite the busy summer for me (but a seriously fun one - I definitely cannot complain!).

As much as I’m sad to see summer go, I’m excited to get back into my normal routine. And, let’s be real, I’m totally one of those girls who freaks out over all things fall and pumpkin and sweaters OH MY. Owning it.

I’m also entering into a new season where there may be some “rearranging” going on. If you couldn’t tell, I’m one of those people that always has about 49582 going on at once (and by 49582 I mean being the social media manager for 6 different brands, Speakable, GML, church volunteering, leading a small group, and 2 new projects I’ve been working on over the summer), and sometimes it can be pretty overwhelming. I know it’s my own fault and one of my biggest weaknesses. I often wonder if I’d be much more successful (and more content) if I focused on fewer things - and I always SAY I will do that - yet I somehow end up with more on my plate.

Like I said, I know I bring a lot of it upon myself, and being self-employed in New York City isn’t exactly the easiest feat in the world, so I’m trying to go easy on myself. But that’s kind of where I’m at right now + what I hope to work on/manage better as we go into fall.

Ok ok, venting over 😉

I must say I’m really excited to see what’s in store for the rest of the year. I’m pretty stoked about those 2 new projects I mentioned (which unfortunately I have to keep under wraps for now) + some fun newness for Speakable! I’ll be sure to share everything here first, of course.

Lastly, thank you all so much for your kind comments and emails over the past few weeks! I always love hearing from you - questions, feedback, etc. - and honestly some of your recent comments are what gave me the motivation to put this post together just now :) You’re all the best, seriously.

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What’s new with you?? What are some of your goals for the new season?

 

snapshots.

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It’s Friday, woooo!

I’m off to a festival downtown with Sydney and friends, but thought I’d throw together a quick post recapping some of the past week. It’s been a pretty slow week for me overall, which I’m happy about because I have a crazy week (and few months, actually) ahead of me.

I mean, you know it’s a slow week when one of the most exciting things you did was get a mani 😛

That’s Red Carpet Manicure “Star Power.” Normally I do my RCM nails at home (it’s an at-home gel kit), but this time I brought the polish to the salon and they used it.

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On Monday I had a bit of an “aha” moment before posting this Instagram:

I’ve shared before how it’s so easy to fall into the comparison trap, especially these days in the blog world where everyone has gotten so…professional. But I can honestly say I’m finally in a place where I’m confident about what GML has become, and I’m owning that realness! I’m also so thankful for all of you for encouraging me to just…be me :)

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Fast forward to Wednesday when my Community Group and I met, but this time we switched it up a bit. Sydney and I have been leading a group on Social Media & Blogging, and normally we meet at cafes around the city, but this time we met at our own private Breather space.

Breather has spaces all across NYC (as well as Ottawa, Montreal, Boston & San Francisco), and they’re essentially rooms that you can use for…whatever you want! Jessi and I have used them for everything from client meetings to photo shoots, to just somewhere to work during the day. You can rent the breathers for 30 minutes, hourly, or all day if you wanted to (and they’re quite affordable).

It was really nice having the private space for our group. We took the opportunity to bring tons of snacks, of course 😛

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I’ve made a bit of a weekly tradition of going to Hu Kitchen after SoulCycle on Thursday to eat + work for a few hours. This time I got one of their MashBar bowls, and it was ridic. I made my own combo - it had a base of taro pudding topped with blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, and almond butter. With a side of coconut iced coffee = breakfast perfection.

(If you’re ever in NYC definitely check out Hu - it’s one of my favorite healthy “fast” food places.)

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Today (Friday) I let myself spend the whole day working from home + cleaning my apartment. I also managed to squeeze a workout in. I’m typically the worst when it comes to exercising at home (I just don’t have the motivation), but I followed one of the workouts in the June issue of Shape magazine, and it was actually pretty great.

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Are you good at (aka motivated enough) exercising at home?
Any fun plans for the weekend?

snapshots | 2.19.15.

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half bun

chunky boots

Soul Cycle NYC

shiba inu

It’s been a bit of a slow week in GML world, and that’s very much on purpose.

Well…let me rephrase that. My social life has been slow, but work has been b-a-n-a-n-a-s (in a good way!).

Most weeks I’m out just about every night, but this week the opposite has been true. It’s been a nice change to fully plan on staying in and just relaxing. The fact that we’ve been in a polar vortex for what seems like this entire month doesn’t make that decision difficult, to say the least.

Anyway, here are some snapshots via Instagram + more of the story behind them.

1) Monday was a great day. I very rarely take full advantage of 3-day weekends, but this time I treated Monday like the holiday it was. Rachel and I went to spin early in the morning, then I caught up on some work before shutting my laptop and enjoying the rest of the day. I had brunch with Rachel and Martina at Egg Shop, which I’d been wanting to visit for a while. It was SO good. I got an egg & cheese sandwich (gruyere, caramelized onion aoli) on a gluten free English muffin, and we went splitsies on bacon. Because bacon. Definitely recommended if you’re in NYC.

2) Every time I kinda sorta miss having a “real” job, I remember how much I hated wearing dress pants and pencil skirts. Thanks social media, for keeping me forever dressing like a teenager.

3) Sneak peek from a recent shoot with Samy. I always have so much fun at our photo shoots. I’ll be honest, though - playing model always feels a little strange. It makes me feel so silly! I definitely think there’s value in having more professional photos, but sometimes I miss the good old days when blogging was more…au naturale.

4) Another shot because these are my favorite boots in all the land. They’re from Boohoo.com.

5) Sooo am I annoying anyone with my repetitive SoulCycle posts? Oh well. Get used to ’em 😉

6) NUGGET THOUGH. In case you were wondering, she is in fact the cutest pup in the entire world. And believe it or not, in real life she’s even smaller than she looks.

7) Oh ya know, just your perfectly curated flat lay of my breakfast before I smashed it in my face. Also, can I be Margot Robbie?

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What’s been a highlight of your week so far? Has it been a busy one or on the slow side?

snapshots | 2.9.15.

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1) Whyyy did I ever stop making Banana Soft Serve? Every time I make it I think “how is this just bananas?” I’ve also learned that using 2-3 bananas makes it way better - not just because there’s more (an obvious plus), but I’ve found it just blends a lot better.

2) On Friday we had a Red Carpet Manicure event at Paintbox nail studio. I had heard of Paintbox a ton but it was my first time there, and it is uh-mazing. Unlike any nail salon I’ve ever been to. If you’re ever in NYC and want to pamper yourself, this is the place to go.

(p.s. or if you want to give yourself a bomb-A gel manicure, you should enter my #GMLLOVE giveaway)

3) That’s my “please don’t make me go outside” selfie. This past week has been brutally cold in NYC. Oh how I miss having a car sometimes…

4) I’ve been loving adding fun sports bras/bandeaus to my normal workout attire. This one is from Forever21, but I’ve also seen them at LF Stores, Urban Outfitters, and Free People.

5) Post SoulCycle sweaty selfie with Sydney. She also just started a new blog with her best friend - check it out: WE Perceive.

6) As much as the winter can be a bummer, a surprise hour-long snow shower is still so fun.

7) These little breakfast arepas from Yerba Buena are my new JAM. Soooo good.

8) I recently shared on Instagram how much I love this little Bible Promise Book. You can find verses by topic (for me - whatever I may be struggling with on a given day). I’ve actually started carrying it around with me wherever I go - just reading a verse or two throughout the day has made such a big difference.

9) The big ol’ fluffy leopard coat is back in action. I reserve it only for the coldest of days…mostly because I look like a freak otherwise.

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What’s been a highlight of your past week(end)? Any particularly great meal, movie, etc.?

 

life lately | 1.31.15.

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Happy Saturday!

Before I go on - I’ve been meaning to say thank you so much for your responses to my acupuncture post. It’s not easy for me to be so open like that, so it meant a lot to read all of your support + learn that I helped shed some light on acupuncture for you.

Anyway, it’s been quite a good week over in this life I’ve met. Here are some highlights of life lately.

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1) I joined ClassPass! ClassPass is basically an “open relationship” with exercise (ha), which is really great for my schedule/lifestyle. For $99/month you get unlimited classes at a ton of top NYC fitness studios and gyms without having to get a full membership.

I’ve taken three classes so far - Pilates, Cyc, and a yoga class at Y7 this morning.

My favorite so far has been New York Pilates. I absolutely LOVED it. It was my first Pilates class using a reformer, and I enjoyed it so much. I must admit that I don’t love strength training (no matter how much I try to lift weights, I just…hate it), but I genuinely loved using the reformer. It worked muscles I didn’t even know I had! And it was just so chill - I didn’t even break a sweat. We’ll save that for the spin classes 😉

2) You probably heard that the supposed record-breaking blizzard Juno fell flat. What was supposed to be 20-30 inches was a measly 8 in NYC. It was awkward.

Still made for a pretty city, though.

NYC winter

3) I FINALLY got around to trying the new Quest S’mores bar. I hadn’t been eating Quest bars for a few months because I just got really sick of them, but…you guys. The S’mores one is ridiculously good.

Quest bar S'mores

4) You may have seen me share this piece of artwork on Instagram. My friend Andrea made it - how beautiful is this?! You can’t really tell from the photo, but the texture/paint actually comes off the canvas 3D-style (ha, I clearly don’t know art terms). If you’re interested in seeing more of her work, you can check it out here.

tumblr_niumzfrMn61s6md8go1_1280

5) Last night Sydney and I had a nice little dinner date at Hudson Clearwater (one of my favorite spots - definitely recommend it!) followed by some bar hopping in the West Village. It was ridiculously freezing out, but we ended up having such a fun night!

6) After yoga class this morning Monica and I had brunch at Two Hands. I had seen it all over Instagram, and it definitely lived up to the hype. It’s a cute little cafe tucked away on Mott Street.

Two Hands NYC

We got almond milk lattes and split the acai bowl and avocado toast.

Yes, us girls love splitting meals. It’s a scientific fact.

Avocado Toast, Acai Bowl, Almond Milk Latte from Two Hands NYC

And now I’m here relaxing for a bit + catching up on some work! Gotta love that balance of a fun/productive weekend, right? 😉

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What’s been a highlight of your week?

 

snapshots | 1.23.15.

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Let’s catch up, shall we?

1) I’ve become obsessed with having flowers in the apartment as much as possible! They add so much…I dunno, happiness? Although I’ve learned that hydrangeas last all of about 2 days, boo.

2) Saturdays with my girl friends are pretty much the best ever. They’re a good reminder of how much I love living in NYC…you never know what to expect. Always an adventure.

3) That’s my goddaughter!!!!!! Her name is Nugget and she’s a Shiba Inu. Jessi and her husband Parker got her last week. I only met her once, but I’ve never loved a little creature more.

4) Oh ya know, just complaining about how cold it is. Give me 6 months and I’ll be complaining about how hot it is.

5) Just a little photo shoot prep. Whether I have a special someone or not, I always love Valentine’s Day.

6) So that sweater? I’ve had it for over a year, but apparently it got lost wayyyy in the back of one of my under-bed bins. Always fun digging up clothes you thought you lost, isn’t it? Oh, and I got a lot of questions about that lipstick - it’s Liv by Illamasqua.

7) Yep, I drank the SoulCycle Kool Aid. So fun, much sweat.

8) Early bird ticket sales end this month for She Is Free! If you’re a girl looking for an excuse to visit NYC, this is 100% it. Learn more about the conference at the She Is Free website.

9) Snapshot of my recent photo shoot with Samy Ruby. I love working with her. I also love being able to work from anywhere. In this case, Juice Press.

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I haven’t done a “what I’ve been eating” recap in a while, so here’s a little update.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve eating mostly Paleo-esque. By mostly I mean when I’m eating at home. When I’m out with friends I’m more flexible. Anyway, here are some of the meals I’ve had that I loved, in case you’re looking for some Paleo/Whole30 inspiration.

1) My version of Loaded Paleo Nachos, inspired by Lexi’s Clean Kitchen.

2) For something sweet - a combo of sliced banana, dates, almonds, coconut cream, and ground flax.

3) A veggie mix of roasted tomatoes, asparagus, and purple sweet potatoes (SO good) topped with fried eggs.

4) Bacon Wrapped Avocado Fries - a serious Pinterest WIN, you guys. Must try!

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Last but not least, some this’ and thats…

1) Check out my latest SheKnows Experts post! 4 Failproof Ways To Dress For Success.

2) If you’re a podcast listener like myself, here’s a great sermon - This May Take A While.

3) It’s that time of year where I start freaking out because I’ve seen barely any of the films nominated for the Oscars…and swear I’m going to see them…then never do. Thumbs down to me.

4) I’m on a gallery wall kick lately. First it was the living room, and now I’m finally making my shoebox sized bedroom a little more presentable.

(…and yes, I am a jewelry hoarder.)

5) Let’s hear it for the WEEKEND! I’ve got a fun one planned, and I’m going to remember to document it for a long overdue scenes from the weekend post.

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What are your plans for the weekend? Have you seen any of Oscar nominees for best film (if so, which should I definitely see?!)?