Good afternoon. I just made a hot tea (still obsessed with Harney & sons cinnamon tea!), and now I’m outside on the patio while the dogs play. I love working outside this time of year, especially when the temps are around 67-degrees. I heard the midwest got its first snowstorm! 😮 This week has been so chill, not worth a recap, but I’m still stickin’ to them. I did a lot of gardening, neighborhood walking, cooking, hanging out with the dogs, reading, piano playing, and coffee drinking. Sometimes, it feels good to hang around at home. I hope you all had a good week. ♥️ 
One thing I’ve OBSESSED with lately is the wildflower meadow I started behind my house. Some of you may remember back in February when I sowed some seeds, but, amazingly, they are all coming up. This morning, I had about 100 cosmos swaying in the wind. Over the weekend, I put my peony bulbs, dahlia tubers, and wildflower seeds in the ground. Right now is an excellent time to plant, so they’ll be full in the spring and summer. I have a blog post going live this week with all the details on my flowers. There’s something so rewarding about watching flowers come up from seed. It almost feels magical. I have about 4000 seeds coming in the mail today! I also bought bags of zinnias to plant next year in the spring. 
We had a crazy rainstorm last Sunday. The whole neighborhood was practically flooded. It made for a super messy walk on Monday morning! But, with rain comes pretty Fall leaves! 
I spent the rest of the morning working from the kitchen table. I love to bounce around the house with workspaces. If I’m in the same spot too long, I get stuck in a rut. 
I made a purple carrot Buddha bowl for dinner. I always add chicken but still love going with the purple carrot service because they keep most of the meals vegetable-based, and I love how unique the recipes are. Whenever I get in dinner ruts, I usually order a PC box. 
I’ve been trying to get into the routine of reading more each morning. I just finished my first book of Book Club, and now I have the last two that I’ll finish this week. I’m glad I only chose three this month. 
My little work buddy, 😊
I only did two Sweat App workouts last week. My body needed a rest, so I just walked instead. And on Friday, we both got our Dtap shots, and my arm has been sore all week. Taking breaks is healthy and a great way to keep yourself from getting burnt out or overdoing it. 
I’m still on that parfait kick! Almost every morning after my morning walks with my neighbor; I go straight for the yogurt parfait! 
Another purple carrot (+ chicken) for the win! So seasonal! 
I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to fit in a walk before heading out to the mall for a day of shopping. 
On Saturday night, we went to Killington’s for a late-night dinner with the neighbors, and kyle and I split the honey-chipotle, mid buffalo, and bbq wings! OHHHH were they good! We had them for leftovers for dinner on Sunday night while Kyle watched his Eagles game. 
Sunday morning breakfast! Chocolate chip pancakes, banana, yogurt, and scrambled eggs! 😋 We went for a little coffee and trail walk afterward. I blogged about that yesterday! (check that post out here!)
Sunday afternoon walk with the pups! 
When I got home, I organized and decluttered some of the bathroom drawers. I figured I’d share what has been SAVING my skin lately. This Neutrogena face wash and turmeric oil-free gel moisturizer are incredible! I also use the Bye Bye Lines morning and night around my eyes and mouth. I picked the Turmeric moisturizer up at CVS after reading reviews on Amazon. I was too impatient to wait for another hour to use it. I also bought the oil-free redness soothing facial cleanser (over 3600 reviews) with salicylic acid acne treatment because I’ve been noticing more blackheads on my skin. I’m telling you, this stuff had overnight powers. If you’re looking for something that won’t break the bank, this stuff is it! The Bye Bye Lines Serum is a bit pricier but 100% worth it, in my opinion. I’ll be 30 in just a few months! Time to protect the face 😊
Questions for you!
- Do you ever just love staying at home?
- Do you have a face product you LOVE?
- Do you ever change spots to help you think better?
Home is my favorite place to be 😂
Yes!! Can’t use anything other than Arbonne’s RE9 line. They just came out with a Bachouli (retinol alternative) line that im excited to try, too!
Yes! I find that I can get distracted staying in the same spot.
What did you think of the Heretic’s daughter?? I have mixed feelings and I’m about 2/3 of the way through.
I feel ya, girl!
Ohhhh you had me at Bachouli!
Haha that is so me too!
Ummmmmmmmm 😆 I was just having this conversation with Kyles mom. I think the chapters drag. I like when I get a high and low every ten pages or so. I really wanted to love it since I’m fascinated by the Salem Witch trials. It got better, but I’d say it took a bit for me to get through the book. It was written by a very talented author but a bit slow for me.
I love staying home <3 being cozy in a clean organized space is my fav thing.
I recently bought a Tula kit, it was pricey (so prob won’t buy again due to price) but I do love it! The face scrub, sugar scrub and moisturizer makes my face feel so FRESH and it came with an eye brightening/cooling balm which I love too.
Since it’s expensive I will probably stick to Cetaphil and Neutragena toner 🙂 works just as well IMO
I sTarted working from home with COVID then recently got a new job that is always remote (precovid) and I like to switch up from my desk in my bedroom and my kitchen! I live in a small condo so I can’t wait until we buy a house and I can have my own office
Love you recaps as always!! I might have to try your facial cleansers!
Agree 💯 Love when my space is clean!
I’ve heard great things about Tula. I may have to invest. ANYTHING FOR MY SKIN 😆 But I do love Neutragena.
Glad to know I’m not the only one that changes my spots up!
xo xo thanks for stopping by and commenting!
It’s funny because RIGHT before you described your skin care routine, I looked at the picture you posted on your walk and thought that your skin looked amazing! Thank you for sharing! The Mary Kay charcoal mask is one product I absolutely LOVE and use routinely, but I’m all about new products and can’t wait to look into these that you mentioned.
Random question, but when you are doing weekly recaps, how do you set yourself up for it? Do you take pictures throughout the week and reflect when writing or journal throughout the week or something else? I know that is random, but when reading I just wondered how you were able to summarize it all so nicely.
I used to work from home and had to switch spots, we didn’t have a ton of spots, but I would start the morning in bed and wake up slowly while I worked then move to different spots throughout the house as I was more awake and needing motivation to keep working.
Hi, Allison!
Thank you!! But it’s amazing what good lighting will do. + I had makeup on! 😊
Luckily, iPhones make recaps a lot easier. I just organically TRY to take photos all week long and then on Monday morning (sometimes Sunday night) I upload the week’s photos into a folder, upload them to the blog, and then try to summarize the best I can! Of course, I’m only sharing about 30% of my week. But osmetimes it’s hard because I’m like…I literally DID NOTHING 😆 How do I make this somewhat interesting?
Lol that sounds just like me!
Beautiful photos! 🙂 I’m so envious of your laid back lifestyle! What I’d give to have walks in nature all day! 💕✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
♥️ thank you, C!
I love staying at home too ! My boyfriend and I bought a 1970’s house about 2 years ago, and we’re slowly renovating it since then. It’s far from being finished, but every coat of paint in a room or new furniture help making it feel cozier. And even though I still go out with my friends on a regular basis, I now love spending time at home. I always feel like I have a million things to do here xD
Regarding the face product, I’m basically keeping up with the same routine for years : Effaclar K (or Duo) as my daily moisturizer and Effaclar AI targeted corrector when I want to get rid of small pimples. Both are from the La Roche-Posay brand. They really do the job, in addition to being quite affordable. I also recently discovered the Satin Naturel brand on Amazon while searching for an anti-aging serum (hellooo 31 xD) and I love to use it from time to time 🙂
I’m working from home since march because of the Covid, and I still have to find the organization that really suits me. Just like you, I try to change spots as much as I can in order to stay focused (and also to avoid back and neck pain xD).
Have a great week Taralynn 🙂
Hi, Marine!
That is so cool, and something I’ve always wanted to do! I’m sure it’s never ending but it’s going to be so rewarding when it’s all done. Hope you share some photos with me! I love that kind of stuff.
I have never heard of those products and will look into them! Thank you!
Hope you’re having a great week! xo
I didn’t realize how much of a homebody I am until the pandemic hit. Home is my favorite place to be, especially when it’s clean! I’ve recently started using the Primally Pure double cleanse kit and absolutely love it! I’m going to slowly start switching all of my skin care to non-toxic/natural ingredients, but I hate wasting things so I’ll wait until I run out of my moisturizers and serums to switch over. I’ve never worked at home before, but I will say when I am doing homework or something (currently working on a masters degree) my house has to be clean or else I’m distracted by all of the things that need to be done. As always, love the recaps!
I love just staying home especially on raining days .
I have to try those skin care items (I already added them to my Amazon cart . )
By the way what did you think of the book The Chain , I just finished it a couple days ago and I loved it .
It was so good!!! I couldn’t put it down.