Five Highlights

Popping in for today’s post with three random “highlights” from the past week or so. I didn’t think any one could fill up a dedicated post, but didn’t want to go without acknowledging any of them! Also feels like a bit more of an old-school blog post– just a random, near stream of consciousness.

Cheerleaders on Youtube // So I got totally sucked into Cheer, that new docu-series on Netflix. It was phenomenal and I couldn’t stop thinking about the athletes and their stories. Naturally, I was deep on the social media accounts, reading old articles, watching old Youtube videos. (As one does, right?) Then I found a Youtube series from ages ago that features one of the cheerleaders from Cheer when she was younger. It’s kind of terrible, but also, like, I fully got addicted. It follows a competitive cheer team of teenagers as they train and compete for worlds. Watch at your own risk. Production quality is not great and they repeat clips like crazy (so you can really zoom through things), but here I was completely hooked.

Orangetheory Fitness // Mike and I finally got around to trying Orangetheory!! We both loved it. I’ve heard so many amazing things so I was happy to finally give it a go. I posted that I was going right before the class and then didn’t look at my phone until I was back in the car afterward and my DMs were blowing up with so many people responding how much they love it. Honestly, I totally get the hype.

The class is broken up into three sections (running, rowing, and strength training) and focuses on high interval training. I kind of had no idea what was going on for the first class as it was happening, but it definitely makes sense when you’re done. The second class will definitely be better. My favorite part was that it was a fun workout Mike and I can do together… it allows everyone to go at their own pace, no matter where they are from a fitness-level perspective. It’s also GREAT to have legitimate data to look towards since you wear a heart rate monitor and track the intensity of the workouts based on your heart rate. Feels smart and motivating at the same time.

I also like that every studio does the same workout on the same day. So, my mom could go in Tampa and I could go in New Jersey and we’ll have the same workout! And people on Reddit share the workout for the day and, honestly, if you have a heart rate monitor and a lot of self-motivation, you could totally look up the day’s workout on Reddit and do it yourself at your regular gym as long as there’s an erg (rowing machine), treadmill, and free weights. Like, DIY Orangetheory.

Macbook Air // After hemming and hawing and waiting things out, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Macbook Air. My old laptop is five years old and is definitely showing signs of slowing down. I’ve been backing it up like crazy just in case since it seemed like it could crash at any moment. The worst part is that the battery is on its last leg and it finally got to the point where I couldn’t be away from a charger for more than 45 minutes.

I was holding out for a new Macbook Pro (since the current ones have hardware issues), but Apple only released a 16-inch this past fall. So I went with an Air that I can use while I’m away from my desk and can use my Pro when I’m at home at my desk still. Honestly since everything I do is web or cloud based (🙌🏻), having two separate computers is totally fine.

Loving it so far and hope it’ll allow me to be more productive while I’m traveling and away from my actual desk. At least I’m crossing my fingers that that’s the case.

ILIA Lipstick // I’m not fully going “clean” with my makeup routine. But I’ve been curious about swapping out products as I run out and considering clean beauty products first. Again, not ruling out my tried & true favorites, but I’m definitely in research mode. If I find a swap that works just as great, great. If not, no worries. One brand that keeps coming to the top of my list in terms of efficacy is ILIA. I’ve been trying a number of the products out and have been overall happy. The lipstick is so, so good. I actually bought one a couple of years ago on Nantucket and somehow lost it in transit. I just got another one and forgot how much I like it. At first it smelled a little bit like organic Play-Doh (haha), but I am fully used to it now. It feels like regular lipstick and, other than the initial smell, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between it and one of my traditional favorites.

2020 Manifesto // Meghan re-posted this Instagram right around New Year’s and I loved it so much. I took a screenshot of it and made it my phone background. Since it’s my background, I see/read it countless times throughout the day and it’s such a good daily reminder. If you’re still struggling to get into the right mindset this year, maybe you need to read it too!