The Brightside Vol 5

February 12th, 2020

Happy birthday week to Alexa, Megan and Nina!!! <3

ON REPEAT:

This Time Tomorrow, The Kinks

(from The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack)

(in fact, this whole soundtrack has been on repeat)

WELCOME TO THE BRIGHTSIDE

InstaFAM! I'm honored to have all of you newcomers here, so thanks for being on Instagram when I threw this into the universe. This is a fun little diddy that I send out weekly as a creative outlet and a way to feel more connected to my people, aka you. And who doesn't want a cute little bright spot in their inbox every now and then, right? So without further adieu, welcome to The Brightside. This can be as active or passive as you want it to be - feel free to respond to anything that resonates via email ([email protected]) or slide into those DMs!<3

And to those who have been here for the first 4 volumes while I worked out the kinks: hi, love you.

How's your mind today?

It's Wednesday, and I definitely woke up thinking it was Friday. But as I type this up I'm sipping on some Pinot Noir, cozy in my Marist Sweatpants (if you know, you KNOW), and eating black & white cookies so I can't really complain. Yesterday I had jury duty and it was absolutely as weird and boring as everyone told me it would be, and I think that has something to do with feeling like I'm in a time warp. As boring as it was though - I got to read 7 (!) chapters of my book* and went to Target after getting dismissed around 3:30, so if that's what civic duty is all about then I'm here for it.

(*I'm reading IQ84 - I'm finally in the last section! Also I'm a very slow reader so that volume in one day felt impressive.)

High: SO. MUCH. SNOWBOARDING!

To anyone who I haven't annoyed by talking about this to yet: I picked up snowboarding this season! I'm getting a little bit of a late start since I didn't grow up snowboarding or skiing, and holy heck I can't believe I've been missing out on this for so long. Zach and I went up to Hunter Mountain last weekend and it was the first time that we've gone where I started to feel more confident and less scared. I'm still learning, but finding my groove. We're heading up to Mount Snow for the long weekend which will be my first time on the mountain for a few consecutive days and I can't wait!!! Wish me luck :)

Low: Muscle recovery, or lack thereof

Probably because of the snowboarding, maybe because of winter in general, my muscles have been so tight the past few months. Especially after a weekend where I've been on the mountain and taken a lot of tumbles, I feel like I spend the first half of the week unable / unwilling to work out because I'm so sore, and the second half of the week trying to play catch up and fit in workouts. It's frustrating because when exercising I haven't felt 100% and my schedule is totally off. I'm trying to find a routine that works, but it's been hard. I've taken the first half of this week completely off to let my body rest though, and in general I'm just trying to be gentle and not put too much pressure on myself to fit in x # of workouts a week. (Mary, can't wait for acu in a few weeks <3)

If you know me, you know I love a blog. For a while tried to live that Blog Life myself, but I just don't have the commitment to write and post that often (finding that email is more my speed). That said, sharing a roundup of the blogs I check daily or weekly. The common denominator here is that all of these ladies keep it real, cultivate positive online communities, and bring me to the happiest corners of the internet. Enjoy :)

• Cup of Jo - wholesome, loving, lady things. Highlight of my day checking this site! Sometimes the content skews a little older, but I'm still here for it.

• Jojotastic - I LOVE Joanna from Jojotastic. She is all about sustainability and small spaces - she's based in Seattle and keeps it real.

• Carly the Prepster - I've been reading this blog legitimately since high school and it's been fun watching Carly's brand evolve. She's not for everyone but I think she does a great job explaining the inner workings of the blogging industry and keeping it real.

• The Stripe - You might already follow Grace on Instagram - she's got great style, an adorable cat and happens to be the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, Bad on Paper. Great destination for skincare tips!

What do you read? Always looking for recommendatinos!

This bag. Le Sigh.

How is your week? Tell me all about it :)

Seriously, hit me up, I want to know what's going on in your world.

all my love and more,