The Brightside: August Edition

WELCOME TO THE BRIGHTSIDE

August 1, 2020

on repeat

Bedroom , Litany (Spotify link)

How's Your Mind Today?

Hi friends! Been a while! July flew by.

It has been an awesome first month in Jersey City. It feels like home. I was a little nervous that I’d miss Manhattan, but … I DON’T! I have been back maybe twice since the move, and if anything, I’m relieved to be out. Just before COVID hit, I think I was experiencing (but denying) some good ole’ fashioned NYC burnout. I was really proud of my busy life! I thought “thriving” equaled a slam packed social schedule. I was wrong. When we went down to Florida in March, I was shocked to realize how foreign the downtime was to me. In many ways, being forced to stop dead in my tracks was a gift.

And I think I’ve done a good job of maintaining the “chill” as we’ve settled in. I went to visit my friend Harley (hey Harls!) in Asbury Park last weekend, and I couldn’t believe how wiped out I felt from a weekend of “travel” - read: an hour and a half train ride down. I’m really happy the weekend is here - I’ll berelaxing by our pool and sitting still. How are you doing?

Work has been crazy recently. My team got re-org’d, so, pretty soon I’ll be transitioning away from my role as a media seller and into a role as a more technical project manager. The news was a huge surprise, but to be honest, I'm really excited to transition away from selling media. All I've known for the past 4 years is programmatic advertising, and I'm looking forward to learning something new.

My 20% projects have also really taken off in the past few months, so I'm staying engaged in my passion areas (product inclusion, wellness), and it’s been cool to see everything unfold. It feels like I’m at a major turning point in my career, which is really rewarding to notice after all of the work I’ve put in this year.

I just started the book You Deserve the Truth by Erica Williams Simon and I'm excited to have that as a guide during this time. Anyone read it?

The month of July was a bit rough on my bank account, I'm not gonna lie. I had spent basically all of quarantine making a virtual wishlist, and I went a little wild shopping. I'm on PAUSE now, but here are some of the best things I picked up this month:

• Parachute Linen Bedding - this was one of the biggest splurges and I am SO happy I went for it. I have been dreaming of having linen bedding for years, and they were WORTH THE HYPE!!!

• OXO Squeegee for our shower - just, a really satisfying and fun little tool.

• Bissel Steam Mop - I had seen this circulating on blogs and podcasts as a highly recommended quarantine purchase, and I just used ours for the first time a few weeks ago. Holy shit. So satisfying. Threw on some good music and steamed our floors SO clean.

• Fellow Kettle - I posted this on my IG stories a few weeks ago and got so many questions about it!! Guys, this thing is the best ever. It heats up your water in NO time, you can set the specific temperature you want it heated to, and it's so atheistically pleasing. We got it in pink (Zach's choice!!!) and we love making pour-overs with it.

I haven't really kept a close eye on the actual resolutions I set earlier this year. That said, my birthday is later this month, and last night I took some time to sit down and reflect on what I want to leave in 25 and welcome into 26. Here are a few snippets:

• I want to take accountability for my health. I feel like I do a pretty good job staying active now, but I want to make all the doctor's appointments I should make, start being a bit more mindful about my diet, and recommit myself to my yoga practice.

• Have more trust in the universe and stop being such a control freak. I wind myself up pretty tight, and I want to just trust that hard work and a good attitude are as much control as I can really have. Let the rest come naturally.

• Develop a mindfulness practice. I am not sure what this looks like exactly yet, but I think it will come along with a more routine yoga practice. If you have any good mindfulness tips or resources, send them my way!

I'm SO IN LOVE with this rug. I am waiting for a West Elm sale to kick in, and as soon as it does I want to get this for my office. (LOL yes, this is definitely for a child's bedroom. Sue me!!)