Recovering After the Holidays

January is one of my favorite months just as Mondays one of my favorite days (when I remember to set my alarm just like I didn't do this week). It's calm, fresh, and relaxing compared to the past three or four months prior. Often my November through mid-December is hectic and then I spend Christmas through New Years lounging around. By January, I'm ready to start fresh, recover, and get back in gear. Here's how I practice self-care after the holidays are over. 

1. Start a new diet. After all the binge-eating of cookies and over-consumption of alcohol, I try to put a defined limit on myself. Eating more fresh foods (pomegranates are totally in season right now!) and substituting more water instead of champagne is a great way to kick-start a healthy diet for the new year.

2. Get up and move. I know it's easy to want to curl up in a ball and hide under blankets, but the easiest way to warm up is movement! I try to take the stairs at work when I can, and just get up throughout the day and walk around. 

Related Post: How Your Fitbit is Taking Over Your Life

3. Organize. Nothing feels more refreshing than to de-clutter your house/apartment. Now is the time to go through all your packed away seasonal clothes and donate what you haven't worn. 

4. Stretch. I do yoga every Tuesday and that honestly still isn't enough stretching for my body. Feeling more limber, releasing tension, and improving your posture will feel amazing for your body.

5. Take some time to disconnect. Is it just me or do I spend an inane amount of time over the holidays glued to the television. We're always connected to many types of electronics at all times, so take some time to disconnect from tv, phone, etc and entertain yourself with something that's not electronic. I've pledged to read 35 books this year and I'm trying to read every night instead of plugging in and watching the bachelor. Whatever hobby works for your, go for it. 

How to you practice self-care after the holidays? 

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Humpday Confessions | Bringing in 2016

Oh hey! Welcome to 2016 Humpday Confessions.

I confess...

that I totally missed humpday confessions for the couple weeks I was MIA. I'm glad that I took a little break though so I could enjoy the holidays.

I finally got over to the Renwick Gallery. It's been closed for a couple years for renovations, but just opened up a few months ago. It only has 9 exhibits but they are all super cool! It's all about crafts and decorative arts. The building is beautiful too. If you're in the area or visiting, it's a must-see.

Bar Deco Brunch

A few weeks ago, I went out for my annual birthday brunch. I don't know about you but the less drinking and more food for birthdays is totally my style the older I get. Being the typical D.C. brunch-a-holic, I decided that I wanted to try something new rather than go to the tried and true brunch spots. 

I recently read a review from Bitches Who Brunch, which is an amazing resource for D.C., New York, and Chicago if you haven't heard of them before, and decided to give the new Bar Deco a try. After a quick tweet confirming that they were indeed serving bottomless mimosa, the reservation for 15 people was set. 

2015 Year in Review and 2016 Goals

I'm not a person who is huge on resolutions, however I am a big list maker. So I'm writing this down as basically a "to-do" list for 2016.

Signs Your Fitbit Has Taken Over Your Life

1. You wear it constantly, except for in the shower.

Easy Lasagna for the Lazy Chef

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #YesYouCAN   #CollectiveBias

I would like to preface this by saying that even if you aren't a lazy chef, this recipe is great too. Like you know, I tend to avoid recipes that have 10 + ingredients, so often I stay away from lasagna because there are usually way too many ingredients to buy that I don't already have in my kitchen. However, I was really craving lasagna the other day on a rainy night, so I decided to give it a whirl and see how it goes.

Since I always have cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, I tried checking out Hunt's Pinterest (Yes, they have a pinterest!) for a lasagna recipe. The recipe I adapted was from straight from Hunt's recipe collection. You can find the recipe and other great, easy-to-make recipes, there too!

If you don't have all the ingredients already, you can stop by any local grocery store or Walmart to pick up the rest of the ingredients below. I stopped by Walmart on my way home to pick up some extra Hunt's petite diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. You can find it in the grocery section of Walmart along with the rest of the canned vegetables/fruits.

Things I Never Grew Out Of

Happy birthday....to me! For some reason I forgot to take this day off and I am currently at work (or maybe riding in on the metro slightly late after brunch yesterday...) and I'm probably regretting every second of it it. So I'm obviously writing to you from the past because I knew I had to schedule this post out far in advance.

Anyways, in celebration of my birthday I want to share with you some things that I never grew out of.

Being easily entertained

I literally snapped and texted all my friends the other day when I finally got to ride on a new metro car. It was shiny, the voice was automated, it was smooth! I'd like to think that half of my friends were just like this

But I got absolutely no responses so I'll just have to assume...

Being overly cautious

I know most kids aren't overly cautious and then grow into it, except I've always been over-cautious. I had hoped that I'd be more adventurous at this age, but even hearing someone saying they're going scuba diving gives me the sweats.

Gliding on shopping carts

There's just something so exciting about getting a little running start and gliding down the aisle to where you need to pick up more chicken stock.

Naps

Licking the baking bowl.

I could care less that I could get salmonella. I gotta test it before putting it through the entire process of baking it.

Counting with my fingers

Oh yes, you better believe that I counted on my fingers during my GRE. Fool-proof ways of adding.

So hope you are all having a wonderful Monday and aren't nursing a hangover like I am (most likely). What are some things that you never grew out of?

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