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Currently May 2023 – 12 Things Tuesday

May 23, 2023 by Alicia 1 Comment

Happy Tuesday!! Who is already counting down to the weekend? I’m excited for a 3-day weekend since we go from January to May without a holiday. I’m going to continue with the 12 things Tuesday style (credit to Jordan) to catch up.

First I want to mention the Disney 100 exhibit that I went to with Brian at the end of April at the Franklin Institute. I do wish the exhibit had something more interactive, besides listening to songs from Disney movies, but overall it was a great exhibit. I loved some of the Walt Disney quotes at the start.

2. If you missed it, I did my first open water swim (1/2 mile) and have a whole post about it. It was scary at first, but I’m so happy I completed it and next month I’m going for the mile. I still have only been swimming 2 days a week. I have to get back on my Tuesday/Thursday swim days and then one weekend day.

3. I feel like I’ve done quite a bit of socializing recently. I made a new friend at the swim event and we met up to swim one day, which was fun. Then I had lunch with another friend the following week.

4. While I consider myself an introvert, I really do like making connections with people. As I get older, I love hearing about how people got to a certain point in their career or what they are up to. I’m just overall more curious these days. I see now how curiosity has helped me grow as a person, both personally and professionally.

5. This time last year I had my first day at my new job!! When I say this last year has been magical, I mean it!! Of course, there have been bumps along the way, but I am a new person this year compared to last.

6. In the last 6 months, I’ve started cold showers and journaling. Those are just two practices that have contributed to me feeling like a new person.

7. Next month I move into a 1-bedroom apartment. I’m excited for more space, but I’m also a little sad to leave my studio apartment. At first, I couldn’t imagine living in such a small space, but for just me, it was perfect and we found the best furniture (IKEA everything!) to make it a cozy place to live. The new place will better for me and Brian to share a place together again, so I’m looking forward to that.

8. The apartment pool opens this weekend!! It was the best laying by the pool to read. It’s not really big enough to swim laps, so I would swim at the Y and then sit and read by my apartment pool on weekends last summer and that worked well. I went through so much more sunscreen last year so this time I stocked up with the Supergoop 20% off sale to get me started. I like the smaller size to keep in my purse as I often put sunscreen on for my lunch time walks or if I’m out for a longer period than I expected.

9. I just did a restock of liquid IV. They had 20% off plus I got 20% cash back after that with Rakuten. I don’t often get the high percent cash back, but when I do, I love it! Liquid IV has been key for me with 5am workouts because I don’t eat before. I’ve noticed that having the electrolytes vs plain water makes a difference and keeps me from becoming starving during my workout.

10. May was the month of scoring deals, because one night I happened to pull up Brooks Running and saw my favorite shoe was on sale. I bought a New Balance shoe a few months ago and while they are OK, I still love the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. I just couldn’t stomach the $140 price tag! When I first fell in love with Brooks, I scored the shoes for $99 in 2018. I know inflation…but still. Sale price was $120 and I rarely see the Brooks Adrenaline on sale. I absolutely love them for all the walking I do.

11. A couple weeks ago I took a tour of a water plant with my work. I learned a lot about the filtering process for drinking water and can appreciate it even more. I sometimes think about how these everyday things, like running water, we can take for granted. It was also good to learn more about the business since I work on budgets.

12. Reaching my 1 year at my current job has me feeling like I’ve come full circle in some ways. I have taken lots of notes over the past year. I know a bit more of what to expect and work on without being told, but there is still a lot of learning and growing for me that I’m excited for.

Thanks for reading!

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Currently March 2023 – 12 Things Tuesday Style

March 14, 2023 by Alicia 1 Comment

I took this 12 Things Tuesday idea from Jordan of The Balanced Blonde blog. I have really been loving her updates this way and thought it would be a fun way to catch up since it has been a while.

Today is 3.14 which is Pi day!! I love celebrating this day since I was a math major. It has become my annual tradition to make mini apple pies each year. I made these beauties on Sunday since I knew I wouldn’t have time Monday night.
Pillsbury came out with mini pie crusts, they are pre cut shapes in a roll of dough and this made the process of mini pies so much easier this year. I’ll definitely be buying these again.

3. My current candle obsession is State of Being Co. I was gifted Fearless on my mini yoga retreat in February. I haven’t had a candle since my pumpkin one in the Fall and I didn’t realize how much I missed having a candle to light when I was home for the evening. These candles make the ritual of lighting a candle in the evening better because they come with an affirmation. I light the candle and say the affirmation out loud which makes it an experience.

4. During my mini yoga retreat last month, we talked about journaling and while I have journaled in the past, I have not done a lot of writing recently. After the retreat I had a lot to reflect on so I went back to journaling. The first week back I journaled every day. I have been keeping up with 5-6 times a week journaling lately and it feels good.

5. This year I’m finally jumping on the Friends bandwagon. I’ve never watched it before and I’m already on season 3. I absolutely love it!!

6. This is the first year in a very long time that I don’t plan to rewatch Gilmore Girls since I’m watching Friends. Gilmore Girls has always been my comfort, play in the background show. This year I needed something new.

7. I did a pull up challenge at the end of February that gave me a refresh on my weight lifting workout routine. I’m continuing to follow the program even after the 2 week challenge ended. I’m working on slowly increasing my number of sets or weights. I know I’m so close to doing bodyweight pull ups again.

8. Currently I’m swimming 2 times a week. The past couple weeks have been on my own at the gym, but sometimes I drop into a coached swim session at a local pool. I already feel like my speed is increasing from a few “workout” style swim sessions rather than my usual steady swimming until I reach X laps.

9. March has been colder than February in Philly and even though February was on the warmer side, I’m now over these winter temps. This past weekend was very dreary weather. I look forward to more sunshine days.

10. The past couple weeks when it was sunny and nice on the weekend, I started taking 5 mile walks. To some this may seem like a far distance, but I put on music and just walk a trail loop. It takes me a bit over an hour and it’s so nice to get the fresh air and nature.

11. Speaking of music, I recently started paying for Spotify. I’ve never been a big music person, but also on the retreat, I learned about Frequency Music and started playing those playlists on my walks. It’s so soothing.

12. Also music related, I’m currently obsessed with PINK’s new album. Anyone else?

And that’s my 12 things. I like this style for catching up with what has been on my mind and what I’m currently enjoying. I can’t believe we are already halfway through March this week.

Currently January 2023

January 16, 2023 by Alicia Leave a Comment

With a new year, I thought it would be fun to do a currently post since it has been a few months and I had a few things I wanted to share.

Current Favorite Purchases:

New puffer jacket! Actually I don’t know if I’ve ever really owned a puffer jacket but I’ve been thinking about a packable puffer ever since I went to Portugal and saw some of the ladies in them. I’ve been browsing but many seemed pricey. Then on New Year’s Eve I went to TJ Maxx because I needed a kitchen item and I immediately saw a cute puffer for $60. I tried it on and was sold. I always prefer to try on jackets because I like to size up a bit and that makes it hard for me to commit to purchasing online. I ended up buying a large in this jacket (it’s a Calvin Klein puffer) and love the fit. I’m usually a small for tops and go up at least one size in jackets. I would not have thought to order a large had I seen this online. I’m literally wearing this all the time and it’s warmer than I thought it would be. It also came with a mini bag that it can pack into for future traveling. I feel like I always find clothing items when I least expect to.

Vivaia Shoes for work. I think I first heard about these shoes on a YouTube sponsored video or ad many months ago. Before Black Friday I was looking at one of my work shoes and knowing they needed to be tossed. However I could not toss them until I found a replacement. With Black Friday deals, I figured I would order a pair of the best seller square toe flats. I was nervous to order online because I feel like my shoe size varies between sneakers and flats, but I did order my usual size 9 and was pleased with the fit. There is a little bit of room, but if I were to size down, my toes would be squished. They took a bit to get used to but one day I switched to another pair of flats and realized how there was zero cushion compared to these. I’m liking these so far and think the square toe is better to spread the toes also. I’m keeping an eye on their sales as they have a lot of cute colors and patterns for a second pair.

Current new recipe: Chicken Lentil Soup. If you know me, you know I’m not typically a soup person, but I’ve been in a food rut and some days it would be nice to have a lunch to heat up instead of a cold salad on a winter day. I am also trying to find nourishing recipes that include lots of protein. A couple things I liked about this soup recipe was the addition of lentils for more protein and it’s not tomato based. It seems like so many soups are tomato based and as much as I like tomatoes, I have noticed a bit of acid reflex after eating chili multiple days in a row and feel it would be similar for soup as well. This was a simple recipe to make and now I have soup ready for the week for lunch or dinner. I highly recommend this soup. It was very good and perfect for switching things up.

Current book(s): I just finished Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. I love all their books, but really loved the friendship/relationship in this book. I just started Where the Crawdads Sing. I feel like it’s going to take me a bit to get into as it’s not the typical fiction book I would gravitate towards. I wanted to try to read it before seeing the movie which I have yet to watch.

Currently enjoying: the not so typical winter temps in Philly. It has been between 30-60 degrees this January. With most days above freezing, I feel like it’s not too bad. I know typically winter storms tend to come in February or March though. I’d also prefer for it not to snow on my birthday in April, but it has happened before, even in Philly.

Currently watching: Well I just finished Blockbuster on Netflix, only to find out it was canceled after season 1. I will say I wasn’t sucked into it by any means, but it was ok. I’m also enjoying watching Special Forces on Hulu, the day after it airs on Fox.

I’ve been balancing my weekends with time with friends, workouts and also alone time to chill. There is something to not being busy and just relaxing for the day. I’ll read, watch YouTube, cook or just cozy up on the futon for an afternoon. There were many weekends of travel for me in November and December so it has been nice to stay put for a bit.

Currently September 2022

September 21, 2022 by Alicia 2 Comments

Oh September I don’t know where you went. My weekends have been packed with activities and catching up with old and new friends. I feel so fulfilled I can’t even put into words how grateful I am. Since moving back to the Philadelphia suburbs, I’ve been reaching out to people to make plans. I used to be the person to wait for people to ask me, but I’ve learned to just ask and try to plan in advance.

I was happy to have last Sunday free from plans and ended up swimming my longest yet, 4000m. Towards the final laps, I just wanted to see that 4000 on my watch. The weather was beautiful and I need to take advantage of the outdoor pool while it’s still open.

And now I figured I would catch up with a currently post because there were some books and shows I wanted to share.

Currently reading… I just finished Hook Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey. The first book of the series is It Happened One Summer which I enjoyed earlier this year.

This week I just started reading The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling.

Thanks to Kelsey (@kelswharton from @higirlsnextdoor podcast) sharing on Instagram. I have been loving following people and what they are reading, as it helps me build my reading list and set holds on the Libby app. I was happy this book was available right away as I have many popular books on hold and still have to wait like 20 weeks!

Currently watching…so I started and finished season 2 of Fate: The Winx Saga in the span of 4 days. So good! I had to re-watch the last episode of season 1 before starting season 2 to remember what happened but then it all came back to me.

Another show I watched this month on Netflix, Another Self, a Turkish show (thanks to my friend Jen’s recommendation for a spiritual show). This took me about 2 weeks to get through the season as I had to be paying 100% attention and it had me reflecting a lot. I highly recommend it though. This was also the first show I was able to make it through where the original language is NOT English. I usually can’t stand when lips don’t line up but I felt there was a lot of voiceover to where it didn’t bother me too much with this show.

Current pre order purchase… since I haven’t really purchased much this month which is my goal in order to save $$. I did want to share my pre order of the marshmallow advent calendar purchase (my “essential” December item). I actually ordered 2, one for me and one for Brian since we are living in separate places at the moment. We will have to open the advent together and discuss the marshmallow flavor from afar this year. This will be my third year getting the calendar and always look forward to what flavor each day will be.

Current muffin… yes instead of food I’m naming this category muffins. I have been enjoying making muffins for a snack to bring to work and now that it’s fall, it’s time for pumpkin muffins. But I failed a little with not having all the pumpkin spice spices in my cabinet so I need to get those for the next batch or pumpkin item I bake.

Current item that brings me joy… my pumpkin candle! I bought this candle August 31 because there was 30% off the candle at Anthropologie.

Guys I don’t think I have ever looked forward to lighting a candle when I come home so much. If you have ever lived in an apartment, you know how when other people cook, you can get weird smells in the apartment through the vents. When I get home from work and plan to stay in, I light this candle and it makes the apartment smell wonderful and brings me all the cozy vibes as the temps cool off. Although the highs in Philadelphia have still been 80s some days but mornings are 50s/60s. Perfect weather right now.

Currently planning… holiday plans and travel, but will reveal more of that when I get things scheduled.

And now I’m counting down till the weekend for some more fun plans. I never have so many plans and certainly needed some downtime last weekend and evenings this week but also love having something to look forward to and connect with people more.