Hello from Phoenix, Arizona! It is scorching here. And seeing as how I live in Texas, you know that it's super hot. I'm here for work until Thursday and it's supposed to be about 110 all week. Sigh. When I get back and it's only 95, it's going to feel downright chilly.
Summer is just whizzing right past. I have had more travel than usual and I can hardly believe that we are already into the second week of July. It's only 110 days until our wedding and approximately 160 days until we close on our house. Eeek!!! Phillip has been busy with deadlines at work and I have been trying to wrap up a few projects myself. Here's a peek into what we've been up to lately.
Barre. I love barre, but my summer schedule has seriously curtailed my ability to go as often as I would like. I haven't had class with Niki in over a month!!! #sadface #barrebestie
I've been working on my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale post for this week. It's my Friday Favorites post, but I may post it on Thursday since that's when the sale starts. There are some good things. It's going to be so hard to choose what to get. #ineedtowinthelottery
the house is coming along! I popped in on Friday while I was off. I had to drop Kate at the vet and was in the neighborhood so I wandered around for a bit. If you follow me on Instastories, you know I found a slight issue with my office space that has since been rectified.
This old girl got a wash and vacuum, which she so sorely needed. Badly. It had been too long since I took the car to be cleaned. #whitecarproblems
Saturday was the day I left for Phoenix. I was all packed and ready to go and Phillip picked up my suitcase and said, "I think you're going to have a problem. This is over 50 pounds." To which I said, "There's no way. It's not over 50." He looked at me dubiously, so sure was he that he was right. Well look at that - 44.5 pounds! So yes, I was right.
I finished this book while on the plane. It was so good. If you've ever seen Eddie Izzard live or seen any of his shows on tv, this book truly reads in his voice. Every EI fan should read it. After that, I read The Tea Planter's Wife, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And now I am on to The Nest, which I am loving and expect to finish today or tomorrow.
Landed in Phoenix, where it was a scorching 110 degrees and immediately snagged an iced coffee from Starbucks while I waited for my luggage.
The resort my meeting is at is lovely. The Arizona Grand Resort has a water park, a golf course, a spa, and a conference center. I had dinner the first night at the Lobby Grill. Instead of bread, they bring you housemade kettle chips. I approved.
I had seen the dessert on the menu and knew I wanted that so went with the Lobby Grill Salad for dinner and was not disappointed. I didn't even use the dressing. Roasted mushrooms, green, and a little bacon with homemade garlic bread.
And then this deliciousness for dessert - a s'mores ice cream sandwich. It was as yummy as it looks.
Sunday I had the opportunity to lay by the pool for a few hours before it got too hot.
parker sunglasses | similar bathing suit
Such a beautiful view at the pool. It was nice to have some quiet time.
dress (similar) | sandals (similar) | necklace (similar) | earrings
Since it was going to be so hot, I needed to dress for the weather, but I still wanted to look put together. This is a work trip and I need to put on a good face at all times. I had one session on Sunday afternoon, so this loft dress from last year did the trick.
Dinner Sunday night was at a restaurant at the resort, Aunt Chilada's. It was good and I loved the decor. Those silver star lights are so so pretty. I'd love to hang one or two outside at the new house.
If you follow me on Instastories, you know that I've already raved about the service at the Arizona Grand. They drive you every where in golf carts because of the heat. So kind! So I got a golf cart ride to the restaurant and when I was done, the hostess called the lobby to let them know I needed to be picked up!
The health spa and gym are beautiful! I made sure to get a run in on Sunday. This is a sedentary meeting, not a ton of walking around, and I want to stay on top of my workouts/activity.
I received my first ever alert for a dust storm! Despite my peeping out of my blinds every few minutes, I didn't see anything.
I love a face mask and I love trying new ones! This one is from Sephora and it's their Mud Mask - Purifying and Mattifying. It dried quickly and came off easily. My skin felt so soft after. I loved it.
Despite the heat I am enjoying Arizona! Tomorrow's post is all about Stella & Dot faves, Wednesday is a Workin' It post and I'm talking about our weekend adventures. Have a great week y'all!
Oh y'all. Last week was so crazy. I'm hoping this week is a little better. I've got some fun social events lined up so that should take the sting out of any craziness at work. We leave for NYC in 19 days!!!
Here's a peek into my crazy week last week and some fun from the weekend.
essential fringe necklace | hammered hoops | top (similar) | pants | shoes
I wanted to go into work feeling bright and cheerful on Monday, so I pulled out this bright green top. I just love this color green. I wanted to get to the office in good spirits and this outfit definitely helped.
I've been trying to drink more water while at work. Fortunately we have an ice/water machine on our hallway. I do better drinking my water when it is ice ice cold. My daily goal while at work is to drink 4-5 of these tumblers.
Barre class! #ofcourse
dress (similar) | cardigan | shoes | watch | necklace | hematite ear climbers
Thursday I had a handful of meetings but had some running around to do too. This J.Jill wearever dress is the perfect thing. It's so comfortable, but professional too. I paired it with flats due to the aforementioned running around.
Nothing like a perfect standstill on the highway on a Friday evening. By this point, I was so tired and moderately cranky. I just wanted to get home. I legitimately went 0.1 miles in 20 minutes. #sigh #myamazingfiancehaddinnerstartedwhenigothome
Saturday morning I had Weight Watchers and I was up a couple of pounds. I was totally expecting. I have been completely off my game the last two weeks, until last Friday. Last Friday was a great day and I want more of those. I am too close to goal to slide back. Tracking everything, getting in my water and my activity and those last 20 pounds will go away.
So it was sushi for lunch after grocery shopping.
After lunch we had some things to drop off at the Goodwill donation location. While we were out that way, we stopped by our little piece of land. If you haven't read about our exciting house news, I wrote about that last week. We hadn't been by in a little while so we wanted to take a peek and see how everything was going. Our neighbor to the right is almost completely done and they should be moving in soon.
For date night Saturday night we first hit up the movies to see Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. We both loved it. And now I want a dancing baby Groot of my own.
After the movie we went to Pappadeaux for dinner. We hadn't been there in awhile. It was busy but not crazy and when we put our name in there was a 30 minute wait. So we moseyed over to the bar and had a drink while we were waiting. Just as we finished, our table was ready #perfecttiming
Sunday morning we ran a 5K at Fair Park in Dallas. This was a fundraiser for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. It was a beautiful morning for a race.
I had been considering signing up for the national marrow registry for awhile. When I got to the fair ground and saw the tent staring me in the face, I knew it was time to do it. Be the Match manages the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. All it takes is a cheek swab.
Ready to race!
Post race selfie! It was a good run. He finished in 32:05 and I was right behind him at 32:23.
After the race we did our usual Sunday chores - cleaned the house, started laundry, I baked a cake for work, prepared roasted broccoli and cauliflower for lunches for the week, and some other odds and ends (blog posts, Stella & Dot stuff, work, homework...).
We've had some jam packed weekends lately. I don't know when it's ever going to slow down. Some fun things coming up this week - Friday night out with the girls, and a Stella & Dot meet-up in Dallas tonight!
Make it a great week all!
xoxoxoxo
Hello! And we're already at Wednesday. Is this week flying by for you? It sure is for me. We are halfway to the weekend folks! It is time for Workin' It Wednesday! This month's topic is work/life balance. I don't know about you all, but I struggle in this area sometimes. I have multiple balls in the air and sometimes it's hard to stay present in the moment when so much is going on. I know you're question already - how do you do it?
1. I work out in the morning. If I happen to have extra time at the end of the day, I'll take a walk, but my full on work out happens at 5am. There are too many opportunities for it not to happen if I don't do it then. I also like working out in the morning because it gets it done and it's a good way for me to start the day with a clear mind.
2. I try to leave home stuff at home and work stuff at work. It's hard. Sometimes there is cross over. Especially when planning a wedding. Do these vendors not understand that brides can have full time jobs? If I had a nickel for every time someone said they were available from 2-4 M, W, and F I'd have the wedding all paid for. So yes, there are times when I have to do personal things at work and there are times when I have to do work things at home. I try to keep them as separate as possible though.
3. Spend time with family. I met up with my cousin and her kids over Spring Break to see Beauty and the Beast (go see it!!!). I try to spend time with them as often as I can, but it never seems often enough. Having lived all over, it is a luxury to have family this close. Making time for them keeps me grounded.
With all of the technology available it would be very easy to work from home on the weekends. I do that rarely. Weekends are time for me to recharge. I still facetime with this little miss almost every Sunday. I could just as easily spend that time catching up on emails or paperwork. I don't.
4. Put in 100% while you are there. I get to work a little before 8 and leave at 5. I cram as much as I can into that timeframe and be as productive as possible. And then there are days that require 150%, such as Commencement. Loving what you do helps in this area. I give it my all and then some when it's called for. Doing that means I don't feel guilty for not working from home. And don't get me wrong, it's never been an expectation from my boss that I do, but I could easily get swept up in a culture of busy-ness and I refuse to do it.
5. Quality time with Phillip. If we're watching something random on tv, yes I will scroll through Instagram or Facebook. However, if we are out on date night, at a Mavericks game, or just eating dinner at home, we stay off the phone and concentrate on each other. There are times on the weekend when he has work to do and I take that opportunity to blog, do homework, or bake, so that when we're sitting down to dinner to watch Game of Thrones, we are 100% in the moment.
6. End the day with a clear mind. This was a goal of mine for 2017 to read more. And it's working. I think I've read more books so far in 2017 than I did in all of 2016. Yay! And I do it at night. I take 20-30 minutes before bed and read. It helps clear my mind and I am chipping away at my goal of 50 books this year. This allows me to not go to bed with all of the work things running through my head.
That's how I try to manage work/life balance. What works for you? Sound off in the comments!
Come back Friday for Friday Favorites!
xoxoxoxo
