Took a few days away from the blog to spend some needed time with family and attend a 30 person wedding for one of my dearest and oldest friends. But I am back and have lots of content to share.
What was a COVID wedding like? While definitely different, the smaller group was intimate and spending the whole night with the Bride & Groom was so special. Beautiful speeches, both in person and on video, made the couple’s night. And judging by the smile on the Bride’s face – she couldn’t have been happier with how the wedding went.
I have basically been wearing the following for the last 5 months:
yoga pants
pajamas
swim coverups
So when it came time to chose a dress, I wanted to look nice (of course) but be comfortable. I’m trying to stay on a budget right now but the sales right now are WILD. I found this steal on Ann Taylor Factory’s site two weeks ago. It was cheaper than renting a dress. I hope to wear it to showers, holidays or work (when I figure out my next chapter).
Originally $109.99, now marked down to $22.99. I loved wearing it as much as the price! I especially liked the fluted bottom.
We unplugged and enjoyed our weekend. Yesterday we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, no matter how small we exchange a gift. This year we both stuck to the traditional wedding anniversary gift, 7 years = Copper. I chose a Moscow Mule set, while he opted for a personalized copper frame of our wedding song sheet music. Both will be cherished!
This year I am particularly thankful for my husband. No matter how difficult 2020 has been, I know it would be unbearable if I did not have him with me.
Once we all realized that the quarantine was going to be longer (way longer) than 2 weeks, the internet was on fire with suggestions on how to occupy our time and minds.
Here are some of ours:
Calligraphy
Baking
Purging & Organizing
Self Care
Golf
Exploring Outdooors
Gardening
Ok, so how did each of these go?!
Calligraphy – I wanted so badly to love this. I bought the book and specific pens on amazon, with grand visions of addressing my holiday cards this December in style. But truth be told, this sh*t is HARD. I gave up after a couple hours total in practicing.
Baking – My 5 year old loves a good baking project, however my waist does not. So this was really fun but short lived thank GOD
Purging & Organizing – a silver lining of being home for 5 months, has made us look at our house & mess FOR 5 MONTHS!!! We have gone through all the closets, girls clothes, garage & storage and it feels amazing! I even organized tupperware one day during naptime…. not sure if that is good or just plain old pathetic.
Self Care – whether this was a few quiet mins to myself or pajamas & wine promptly at 5pm, self care during quarantine was more important than ever. I was pretty depressed after I lost my job, so when Universities were offering free courses, I gave it some serious consideration. I took âThe Science of Well Beingâ offered by Yale University by Dr Laura Santos. It had a 4.9 out of 5 rating!! The course describe itself as âengage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habitsâ and it did not disappoint. Check it out!
Golf – It is happening! My husband has golfed most of his life, and I enjoyed spectating. I took a lesson and joined our clubâs ladies league in June. The women are all ages – they are fun, kind & VERY patient with me every Tuesday night. It is incredibly difficult & very frustrating but I love it. I hope this COVID hobby is one that sticks.
Enjoying The Outdoors – ok, a little embarrassed to admit this but there is nature reservation less than one mile from our house. Prior to COVID we had only been there 2 times in 5 years. Well, letâs just say we made up for lost time – we hiked, swam and explored multiple times a week. Then when weather allowed, we ventured to local beaches & pool.
Gardening – I had the best of intentions regarding this one but did not have the follow through to tend & keep them safe from animals. Next year – watch out bunnies and deer, it is on. I have Nonna dreams of growing my own tomatoes and jarring homemade sauce. I did, however, have luck with planting 2 new garden beds & an indoor hydrow garden. Basil all year round = VICTORY!
Honestly, I wish I had even more creative items on the list but parenting, job searching, cooking & keeping the house somewhat clean really tapped me out.
And to the people sewing masks, whether for personal use or donating them to front line workers – I am in awe of you!
Before COVID I had over an hour commute for the days I was working in the office. I started making protein shakes for the ride – they were quick, easy and very filling. This is a routine that I have kept and have them most mornings.
Green Smoothie:
1 cup of non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, today I used Ripple plant based milk)
1 banana (reg or frozen, I prefer frozen)
1 cup of spinach
1/4 cup of blueberries
Chocolate protein powder
Collagen peptides (optional)
You can go to my instagram @butwilltherebewine for a time lapse video of this morning’s smoothie. I increased ingredients slightly as I make enough for two! đ
I was pleasantly surprised how quick and easy this project was. All you need is an old book (any kind of paper would do – sheet music, etcâŚ) a glue gun, and a wire wreath. It could even be a circle cut out of a pizza box if you are quarantining and donât want to go to a craft store. Start with the outer ring first and work your way in.
Instructions:
Gather all materials (list below)
Warm up glue gun & tear out pages
Wrap wire wreath in pages – does NOT have to be perfect. This is to cover the surface and hide the wire.
Roll each page to desired size. Once you have the width you like, glue gun & secure that sucker closed.
Lastly – glue each page into place on the wreath. Start on the outside of your wreath and work your way in.
Repeat repeat repeat
I rolled the paper into smaller cones each row – so it looked delicate the closer to the center. Then tuck the edges into the center and hang! Voila!
But I was making a book page wreath for our living room and I wanted something more polished, which is why I rolled each page into cone shape instead of crinkling.
We have all heard for years that there are harmful ingredients in over the counter deodorants. To be completely transparent – I tried natural deodorant after both of my pregnancies. While I was nursing, I tried to be as healthy and chemical free as possible. But I will be honest, I wasnât impressed. Thank goodness I was home most of the time on my maternity leaves to shower or freshen up because it was needed.
BUT that was a few years ago, and it seems like natural deodorant brands have made strides! So I am giving it another shot.
Truth is, I would love to do a real comparison with like 10 or 15 brands. But Iâm unemployed and on a budget so unless natural deodorant brands want to send them to me for freeâŚ. slide on up in my DMs!!! We gonna work with this little sampler as step 1. Sorry #ThisIsCOVID (and obviously this is not sponsored by Native ahhemmm., the budget reference)
I got this little cutie at Target in the beauty samples section for $2.99 (instead of $11.99 for the full size). I had the sample for a couple days before I put it to the real test, 91 degree 9 holes of golf.
I have been part of this womenâs golf league for almost 3 months now and the group is AWESOME, so hopefully they would forgive my sweaty stinky mess if this experiment is an utter fail.Â
Update & Review – 7 hours later:
The coconut vanilla scent is nice but subtle, not perfumey at all.
Consistency is similar to regular deodorants. It is not sticky.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I would give it an 8 out of 10.Â
I wasnât exactly fresh as a daisy after 9 holes in a humid 91 degrees but I donât think a regular deodorant wouldâve been perfect either.
I am going to stick with it, and if happy I will buy the full size when mine runs out. I hope to post an update on another brand in the future for a comparison!
When we were finishing our home renovation, I was adamant on finding comfortable barstools (preferably upholstered) to ensure the guests would hang out for a while and hopefully keep me company at the island while I cooked and loaded the dishwasher.
However, we were already at over budget on our renovation, and needed 4 stools. So there was no chance in France I could pony up $4,800 for counter stools. Being the bargain hunter that I am, I was on a mission to find the look I wanted on a budget.
Wayfair. Joss & Main. Home Goods. Home Decor. Warning – what I saved in budget, I gave up in hours. Many many hours. Ultimately we had success at Home Sense – we are fortunate enough to have one in our town. Only the 2nd in the US. It is Home Goods but with lighting, more rug & furniture choices. And there are multiples vs home goods 1 lamp, or 2 chairs but it is pretty rare to find several.
One Major Problem – my $100 stools were bar height not counter height!
Luckily, after 4 months of a major renovation & addition, we had a great relationship with our Contractor. The carpenter happen to be working that week and we asked him to cut a 3.5 inches off the bottom of the legs. And there you have it! $400 vs $4,800.
To be completely honest, I have contemplated with the idea for years but never had time juggling our work, home & family’s schedules. And then our world was flipped upside down with COVID quarantine mid-March 2020. My children’s school canceled, our work went fully remote until 2 weeks later when I found myself unemployed.
I spoke with a Life Coach in May 2020 and after discussing my values and passions (link to that post), I was very motivated to finally start one and then two things happened: 1) I was drowning in daily quarantine life and 2) talked myself out of it thinking âI don’t want my life to be that publicâ. Yet, a few months later…..here we are.Â
I guess you could say my ah ha moment, the realization that I couldnât dodge the blog idea any longer, was the first week of July 2020.
Let me preface this story by saying COVID Quarantine has had many ups and downs. There are mostly positive days – we have settled into our new ‘at home’ routine, I am the stay at home mom/cook/neighborhood summer camp counselor while the other working parents are juggling zoom calls. I try to fit in an hour of job searching and submitting resumes during my 2 year old’s nap. However, most days I am too exhausted to break from our routine, some days I have spurts of motivation …while during others I can feel serious anxiety and depression. Something tells me we will look back at Spring/Summer of 2020, the long list of what people had to juggle during the pandemic and how utterly impossible it was to successfully achieve most of it.
Then one particular July night, my mind was racing – more than usual. 11pm. Midnight. 1am⌠the clock just kept ticking, but my mind wouldnât stop. The thoughts kept coming and were getting louder. Finally I picked up my phone and posted this⌠mostly just to get it out of my head in hopes of getting some sleep!
It said “Truth is, I have been hard on myself lately. Questioning anything and everything. Could I be better about finding time to exercise? Cook healthy meals? Job searching & networking enough? Oh and donât forget about that business you wanted to start – how can I give that more time and attention? Am I finding enough activities for the girls? Still setting aside time for Ryan? Finding moments to connect with friends? How about those golf lessons I committed to? Or cleaning, purging and organizing the house better? Lord knows we have all been home long enough to notice the mess. Thinking about the answers to most of these is pretty daunting… so what did we do about it? Go to the North End and eat pasta, of course”
The next morning I saw response, hundreds of likes, more than 30 comments⌠it was clear, I was not alone in juggling pandemic life’s woes.
So if you were all willing to read and support me on that July night. I thought, maybe you would like to see a little more!
What will I write about? My goal is to share my authentic self. We all have seen the âinstagram vs realityâ jokes. But I truly hope to come across here as I do in person! And share the things I am most interested in:
Home, Real Estate and our recent renovation
Lifestyle: DIY, Food, Fitness, etc…
Deals & Steals – I am a bargain hunter, always have been
Beauty and Self care
Will I be good at blogging? I hope so Will I gain a decent following? I am not really sure yet
....but will there be wine? 