- After refreshing our balcony with much needed new pillows and a new rug (this was the other one I was between, but it didn’t go as well), it made me want to replace a few other items in our home. If you are in the same boat of wanting to replace some items, but are not sure whether to pull the plug or not, these are some things that help me.
- Declutter, declutter, declutter. Sometimes it’s not about adding, but rather taking away. A cleaner space will really allow you to see what changes you want. Sometimes a super deep cleaned house is all you need/want after all.
- Rearrange what you have. This is one of my favorite things to do as it makes old items feel new again. Sometimes it is helpful to start with a blank slate to get ideas to pop in our heads. For example, remove everything from your coffee table, console table, and side tables and put it all aside in one spot. Now look at your blank slates and start adding pieces back in a new way. Once it’s refreshed, see what you are still longing for, and then make that purchase.
- In the closet department, I’m feeling all things summer right now. Jelly shoes were big last season and there are even more options this season. I bought some salmon color Jeffrey Campbell jelly’s in winter this year, but only wore them for a hot second on vacation. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to walk in them TBH, but they look cute with a lot of summer outfits. They also come in mules, which might work better for some of you since they don’t have the back. A jelly flip flop might just be the easiest to wear of the bunch.
- I’ve got this rainbow dress in my cart at the moment; waiting a tad to make sure I really want it. I feel like it’s such a timeless, classy shape that can easily be dressed up or kept casual. If you’ve never shopped at Tuckernuck, click on the 15% off pop up to get 15% off when you sign up for texts. They have so much cute stuff and it’s free shipping and free returns. Their prices really vary since they have many designer labels in the mix. If you are looking for a nice dress though, it’s worth checking out. This casual blue and white one would be cute on many for summer.
- This linen short sleeve camp shirt is back in stock at Quince. One of my most worn last summer. I almost didn’t keep it either since it looked extra oversized on me (I took an XS in it too). I just tuck it in more narrow or tie it in a knot depending on what shorts or pants I’m wearing it with.
- If you’ve been wanting a new device to shave facial hair, checkout this Sonicsmooth Dermaplane Razor. I am contracted to share a quick reel of me using it on YouTube soon, but am under no obligation to share it here. I just think it’s the best of it’s kind that I’ve tried by far and funny enough I get asked about tools like this randomly. It’s super easy to use, not nearly as scary as many that I have/tried, and easily got rid of my cheek hair. I go in long spurts of both having a shaved face and embracing the facial hair. I’m here for it all… minus a mustache. I just like the way makeup looks on shaved cheeks. Full discloser though, I hacked one of my cheeks with it, but at no fault to the razor. It’s the gentlest of it’s kind. I just didn’t think it through when I said yes to doing a shaving reel. I don’t have the right equipment and light to be shaving my face in a phone while seeing what I’m doing and making sure I’m close enough to see the hair coming off. It was a doozy. I’m really surprised it’s not hacked up more. I just had to laugh at myself.
- If you’ve been wanting the Nama J2 Juicer, now is a great time to get it. Nama is including a free sorbet attachment with purchase for a limited time ($45 value). Stack that with my code RIANE55 for $58 off and it’s a good savings. Be sure to add on the strainer if you want that as well. I had one and lost it in the mix of travel. It’s really only the 100% celery juice that I want to be strained more. I share my daily juices on YouTube.
- I’ve known there were amazing benefits to saffron, but lately I’ve been seeing saffron mentions often so I wanted to see if I was missing out on anything. I add it to rice once in awhile, but a few saffron threads every blue moon is not much. After going on a deep dive of trying to find a quality saffron supplement that is more affordable, I almost bought one/fell for one of the $30 ish supplements on Amazon. They appear like a quality supplement, they have clean ingredients, have third party testing, but when I was searching articles on safe mg amounts, the mg are way too high from what is recommended for most for a suitable dose. I swear, 95% of the supplements out there are junk and it’s a pain that it’s up to us to sift through. Anyhow, the best saffron supplement that I have come across so far is The Fullest. If you have another recommendation, please comment for all of us below! I didn’t order The Fullest (so far), since I’m not sure if I want to spend the $ on it. It’s not something I feel I absolutely need, but I want to share it incase it speaks to you. If you happen to be on antidepressants and have been wanting to get off, check them out for sure. A lot of the reviews were from people that made the switch and it’s worked for them. According to The Fullest website: “Clinically Proven: Studies show saffron, in therapeutic amounts, works as effectively as antidepressants for moderate anxiety and depression. Studies also support its benefits for PMS, low libido, sleep, inflammation, and even weight management.”
- Peter Kennedy sent me his new book The Remembering: A Journey Back To Self. He found me through sharing Gabrielle Bernstein’s book and reached out with no strings attached. I just started and only read right before bed so I didn’t get too far, but it’s real, raw, vivid, and there is even humor in it. It’s not what I was expecting, but in a good way. I’m only a few chapters in, but I fully recommend. “Transformation is never linear. It doesn’t follow a predictable path, nor does it arrive in the way we expect. We like to think growth happens in a straight line—from struggle to breakthrough, from challenge to clarity—but the truth is far messier. It’s unpredictable, uncomfortable, and often filled with strange synchronicities that make no sense until we look back. The moments that change us most are rarely the ones we see coming.“
- I have had a really good morning routine for years, but I’ve never been super great at giving myself a longer winddown time before bed. Yes, I don’t have kids and I’m at home doing nontraditional work on my own schedule and travel to WI often, but I am always moving or working on something. I am not just sitting at home just having a leisurely time during the week. It does cross my mind as to why not. Ha. My husband told me often enough not to work until he came home. It’s true. It took me until this year to not feel like I had to be productive until the time he walked through the door. For years we were coming home together many nights when I had my previous business and long weekday hours were just ingrained in me. It’s what I was use to. Even the years that I could be more flexible since I had amazing coworkers working with me, I never let go of that need to be productive for long hours of the day. I’ve been very slowly learning to let go of this. You could say I’m unlearning. I’m now making an effort to be done with to-do’s by 7:00pm. This sounds late when I type it out, but it’s a step in the right direction from my usual 8-8:30pm. I now look forward to that unwind period however it looks before Mark comes home. Mark gets home around 8:30-9pm during the week and it’s pretty much bath and bed right after. We read and/or watch Golden Girls for a bit before lights out between 9:30-10. I had a point to telling you this mumbo jumbo. Ha. Maybe a bit of this whole mix: give yourself a nighttime winddown period, rest is productive, down-time is productive, that to-do list is never going to end so don’t live and breathe by it, and sometimes we need to unlearn. Xx
- 3 recipes on the blog this week: 10 minute dinner salad, blueberry protein smoothie bowl, go-to quinoa salad
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