Hello Beauties <3 

This has honestly been the most rough year in all of our lives. Through the stress and uncertainties of todays world, I just wanted to do a little blog post for you to tell you how I've been coping with this.

It's been really rough for everyone, the fear of losing a loved one, small businesses suffering as big corporations thrive, uncertainty of your big day or celebrations with your family. I feel you, I hear you. 

For me, It hasn't been about not being able to do this or that like normal, (although I miss normalcy, I will do what it takes to keep loved ones safe) I MISS being able to hang around my whole extended friends and family and just be in each others presence. Anyway, on to more positive things lol sorry.

Here are ways we have been keeping busy:

1. We renovated our store.

Yes, you may not have a boutique to renovate, but what about your home? DIY projects you can find on Pinterest or inspiration you can look at on Instagram, google, house or other helpful apps. 

Don't have the budget? take EXISTING items you have, try spray painting them, or maybe bedazzle them. You would be SHOCKED at how many inexpensive things you can make look EXPENSIVE.  

2. Not in the mood for a renovation project? RE-ORGANIZE.

One word, Etsy. They have some really beautiful labels to organize your pantry/spices with. You can also check out @thehomeedit on Instagram for some SERIOUS decluttering Inspo.

3. Take your cooking game to the next level.

I have always been OBSESSED with cooking/chefs since I was a little girl. All I would watch was The Food Network everyday. Fast-forward to present time, now being a huge foodie, I totally fangirl over Celebrity Chefs, more than your A-LISTER (as far as fan-girting over actors or musicians trust me, I've met a few and boy have I been disappointed) The best cooking class for someone who's a foodie like me I can recommend is WWW.THEMASTERCLASS.COM You will not be disappointed. Some of the best of the best are on there. Not only that, check out the website as there are classes for soooo many different categories. 

Some of my dishes I've made from my iPhone pics <3

GET BETTER PLATES. I'm telling ya, nothing nothing nothing made me want to make more and more delicious food other than getting restaurant quality plates that are beautiful. They make you want to be a better person *insert laughing emoji* lol

MAKE YOUR FOOD COLOURFUL!!! Ahhh I stand by this forever and always, your mood will automatically be boosted if you not only add your beautiful plating skills - but COLOUR to your food too. 

Lastly, PLAY some amazing music while you're enjoying your food, dim the lights and light some candles, turn it into a MOOD.

4. BOARD GAMES!!!!!!

Not sure if I'm cool or 12 but I will forever be in love with board games. Theres actually a really fun interactive game you can put on your TV if you search JACKBOX, there are a few different volumes and my family and I love those. I also love to play UNO, CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY, JENGA,BALDERDASH, TELESTRATIONS AFTER DARK, CRANIUM... and that's all I can remember for now, we literally have so many haha.

5. Restaurants.

I still love to support local businesses, I try my best to go out with my hubby once in a while to help keep our community afloat, and also.. Sometimes you need a break from cooking! I have personally had amazing experiences at restaurants, I have never been remotely close to another table seated, and find that they are extremely organized with PPE procedures. Whether you're getting take-out or dining in, just remember to be responsible for those around you too, sanitize, wash your hands and enjoy your meal!

Some restaurants that I've gone to within the past few months are:

Akira Back, Sara, Gusto, Amal, Sofia, One, (some local taco places, can't remember names) Terra, Pantry, Muncheez)

Social distance dinner at Blue Blood Steakhouse ^

6. SELF CARE SUNDAYS

I get so excited for Sunday to roll around because I have made a routine for myself! I give myself an at home mani, use an ultrasonic on my face to scrape off dead skin in the shower, I come out and then zap away with my frequency tool, put on a mask, my serums (check out @blksheepherd for a little video on some skincare things I do) I have also added @pelleskins serums to my routines and some more "Deciem" products as well, they work SO WELL for my face.  I am not a skincare specialist, but it really works for me and I absolutely love this routine I've added into my weeks. 

Also you may have noticed that I was getting blowouts with @amberjeanhair as well, I consider anything that makes you feel good, self care (Also ended up cutting bangs randomly when I went in because, why not?!)

Vitamins I take in addition to my skincare regime, again, I AM NOT an expert, but it works for me!

My bangs! So fun, thank you Amber!!!!

7. GETTING IN SHAPE!

Some of you have probably noticed me posting little glimpses into my workouts. To give you a better idea of what I'm doing as far as exercise goes- I have joined an 8 WEEK CHALLENGE with @coachchrissmits if you want to get more in depth info check out his IG/WEBSITE. Basically 6 days a week we do a LIVE ZOOM class (there's one at 7:15am and one at 9:30am) Alternate days are either conditioning or weight training, you need to have different levels of weights if you're thinking of joining in. You also will need an Apple Watch as the challenge tracks you on it. You are placed into teams of 4 and in this specific challenge, there are 21 teams. You must not let your team down or you will force the rank to lower. You must burn the minimum requirement of calories a day, mine is 630, you need 14 stand hours (which sounds scarier than it is, you need to have one standing minute per hour) and you must have 90 EXERCISE minutes.  So I do the workout in the morning, Which can go anywhere between 45-60 minutes, then I NEED another 30 minutes to complete my rings, so I will normally do a 30 minute stretch, and can I say... I could NOT touch my toes before? I was soooo tight. My new thing is showing off touching my toes to everyone! LOL

Honestly, I have never been a working out is a #lifestyle type of person, but doing the LIVE workouts PUSHES me to continue and do my best, having my coach there to guide me or yell at me is exactly what I NEED. Plus, I have always been far too lazy to go to a gym.

So they also give you a guide for your eating, some recipes and diet plans, I did not follow any diet plans because I am already thin, but wanted to tone up. My husband followed it and has lost around 12 pounds, while still eating things he LOVES. If you want his before/after, or my sisters if she will share (she did the challenge last time and WON! weee!!!) LET ME KNOW!!!!

8. Going for a drive, or walk anywhere, whenever. 

Being home all the time can really damper your mood. YES I am a homebody, yes it's a pandemic, but for mental health purposes.. Get out! go for a walk, feel the fresh air, go for a drive, find a trail, run the errands you need to run. I went for a drive downtown the other day and my eyeballs widened seeing so many people walking around. I rolled down my window and just people watched. Sometimes even doing that is good for you.

9. Learning and finding new ways to be creative in our work zone.

 We are constantly and consistently trying to better ourselves, our store and our customer experience. Whether it be the Cards you are getting with your package with the illustration of Sami & I (ps. how cute would it be if we framed those? we have made 3 illustrations so far, message me if you have all 3!) Our new boxes we created with the oh so talented Candice Kaye we are SO excited to launch once we get in, to our website, our store itself being more current, trendy and up-to-date, keeping up with current buyer demands. You name it, we are looking out for it. If you have any suggestions on what we can do to improve, please DM us.

Our second drop of cards for our shipped orders ^ HOW CUTE?!

10. This is one I know we've all been doing... BINGING TV-SHOWS & Movies

Anyone else constantly refreshing Netflix to see if anything new or exciting came out? Well MEEEE TOOOO. My faves from what I can remember are:

Wentworth, Money Heist, Friends everynight before bed of course, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Chefs table season 1, Somebody Feed Phil, The boy (Not a fav, but I randommmmmly chose it, and thought it was pretty decent for a movie I had no expectations for lol) The 100, The Umbrella Academy, The Old Guard, Snowpiercer, Crazy Delicious, White Lines, Hollywood, Queen of the South, The Five, Mollys game, Game night, Medical police (one of those dumb comedies but seriously made me laugh because it was bad) YOU, How I met your mother, OKJA, Miracle in cell No 7.. ahh there are so many more I cannot remember but, hopefully some of these will help you!!

Thats it loves! I hope this post has inspired you to at least do one of these things for yourself. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Xo,

Sara