MORNING | I wake up one minute before my alarm is set to go off (at 7:30 a.m.). I had really weird dreams last night and I feel unsettled. I feed the girls and then sit on the couch to read my book before it’s time to get ready for the day. I brush my hair into a ponytail, get dressed, brush my teeth, take my meds, and then do a very simple makeup routine (eyebrows and mascara). By 8:40, I’m out the door. I take a quick pit stop at my apartment’s trash compactor to drop off some boxes. (We have a valet trash program, in which we just put our trash right outside our door on specified nights and a company will pick it up, but they don’t take boxes so I always have to take those to the trash compactor myself.) And then I drive to Starbucks for my weekly writing date with Mikaela! At Starbucks, I order a peppermint mocha and a blueberry muffin, and then we chit-chat for a bit before diving into our work. Mikaela works on her book and I do some blog recategorization work and also answer blog comments. Near the end of our date, Mikaela reads aloud what she wrote and, as always, it is excellent! Afterward, she leaves but I stick around for another half-hour to finish up what I was doing.
AFTERNOON | After my writing date, I zip over to my mom’s house to pick her up. We have a fun afternoon planned! First, we drive over to Tampa to pick up a Christmas present for my brother. It was one of those weird gifts that wasn’t available for shipping but could be picked up in-store. Then, we had lunch at World of Beer where I sipped on a delightful caramel apple cider. It tasted like grown-up apple juice and had this delightful caramel aftertaste. Yum! After that, we ventured over to the mall for some pre-vacation shopping. We need some cold-weather essentials. I didn’t buy much (a very cozy sweater and a beanie from Old Navy), but it was a pretty successful outing nonetheless. I was dragging by the time we were finishing up at the mall and was excited to take a nap when I got home. I dropped Mom off at her house and when I got home, I shucked off my pants and bra and immediately jumped into my bed. YAY! I read a few chapters of my novel and then set an alarm for 6pm. And then I drifted off into dreamland.
NIGHT | I woke up right around the time my alarm was set to go off and the girls are ready for dinner. I feed them and then start a bubble bath for myself. It’s warm and soothing and I play Happy Color on my phone while I sit in the bath. When I’m done, I preheat the oven and pop in a frozen pizza, and while it cooks, I sit on the couch and read my book. I eat while scrolling Reddit and reading blogs. And then I tidy up the apartment and have an ice cream treat before deciding it’s time to paint my nails. (Side note: Nicole recommended the Sally Hansen gel top coat, and it is just as amazing as she says it is! I can get almost two weeks out of my nails if I use a gel polish, which is insane to me.) I work on this post as I paint my nails and halfway through, my mom calls me. We chat for a bit and when we hang up, my nails are done and I’m ready for bed. I finish up this post, brush my teeth, and hop into bed right around 11:30. Time for a few chapters of my book and then ASMR videos to relax me to sleep.
saturday in the life: 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
When was the last time you went to the mall? (I rarely go these days!)
I went to the mall for the first time in….wow I can’t remember but a REALLY LONG TIME…last month. The wedding that we went to a few weeks ago was formal and I had nothing to wear. It was really discouraging because I couldn’t find anything and even if I had it was all so expensive. I ended up getting a $50 dress off Amazon that looked fabulous.
I also painted my nails for the first time in forever for the wedding and I think I’d like to bring that habit back. It was relaxing. I got a Sally Hansen duo-polish & top coat that matched my dress and looked great but it only lasted a few days before it started to chip. It wasn’t the gel top coat though, so maybe I’ll put Nicole’s recommendation to the test.
The last time I went to a wedding, I bought a dress off Amazon and it was SUCH a great dress!
I’m so glad the top coat worked for you! I was wondering! It extends my manicure so nicely.
Speaking of the mall, I was there on Friday. I am, other than a couple of little things I’m online ordering today, finished Christmas shopping!
It is an AMAZING top coat, Nicole. I LOVE IT!
I haven’t been to the mall in years! I never was one to go often, but even then I went a couple times a year. However during the Covid shutdown months I learned how to quickly shop online and have never gone back to moseying around a mall. I probably should, just out of curiosity.
I went to an outdoor mall in…March? I occasionally go to the Ulta in a mall, but just to the Ulta and right back out. It’s just not a thing I do anymore post-COVID. Not sure I’ll ever get back into the habit.
I’ve never tried the gel top coat. I don’t bother to paint my nails since the color chips in a day or two, so maybe this is something I should try. Does it require anything special to remove it?
Nope – I just use regular nail polish remover and it comes off easily!
WHAT A FUN DAY! I love everything you did- Starbucks, the mall, a nap… you hit all the highlights. I was just at the mall last week, smelling candles at Bed Bath and Beyond. Oh, I also love how you bought a Christmas present- the season has begun!
This sounds like a relaxing Saturday – I just would get out of the house later. I find your writing dates so intriguing. What a great way to meet a friend and get something done. I feel like I want to do that too. My best friend and I were talking about meeting and working on some of the adulting stuff we always put on hold like, retirement, will, emergency stuff…
Oooo, I forgot your trip is right around the corner, yay!
I was reading this and thinking, whoa, that is a big morning out… does she have the whole day booked?! Glad you didn’t!
That is impressive with the top coat!
I was in the mall to get my hair done a month ago. That’s the only reason I ever go 🙂
I haven’t been to the mall in a long time (other than once or twice to pick something up at a specific store – but I did not go browsing anywhere else).
Sounds like a fun Saturday with lots of social time (but also a nap! ;))
I need to take a lesson from you in How To Saturday. What a wonderful day this must have been – time for your writing date, and with your mom, and napping and even the frozen pizza. 🙂