High Five for Friday: August 10

Let's see what brought the sparkle this week:

• On Friday night, I went to Recovery Yoga. The last time I was there, it was pretty AA heavy, which is fine—that Bill W. has some solid advice—but I felt out of place, even though it’s not limited to people with addiction issues. But this time around, it quickly turned into a discussion of all forms of therapy! EMDR came up, and I went full Lilo:

It's always so nice to find an outlet to talk with people who just ✨get it✨ you know?

• Last week was a doozy. But by Saturday (when I left Maggie's), I felt like I had grown. I had felt a lot of things, but being on my own (with my trusty emotional support cat, Pudge!) gave me the space to feel them, cope with them however *I* wanted to (which resulted in doing extra therapy, bugging Kristin, going to yoga, shopping with Karuna, and bingeing Happy Endings), do some scary vulnerable things, and ultimately reach an okay state. That was the motivation behind this post on Instagram, featuring a stalwart sunflower at Maggie's that seemed no worse for the wear even though it poured like every day last week:

I feel like I bloomed a bit this week too. ☺️🌻 #flowertherapy #flowers #nofilter #flowersthatarentmine

A post shared by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Aug 4, 2018 at 2:10pm PDT

• Speaking of shopping... I went a little nuts last week and weekend. 😬 I had been so good with curtailing my shopping lately that I’m feeling guilty. My birthday is at the end of the month, so I’m thinking of these as early birthday presents! 😉 First up, we have this Target shirt that was too on-brand for me to resist:

I'm documenting my outfits on Instagram this month, so you best believe this baby will be coming soon to an IG near you!

• And then I finally took the plunge with The Ordinary!

All of this cost $37! ($35 was free shipping, natch.) I had been wanting to try them for awhile, and my toner and serum happened to run out at the same time, and I wasn't too pleased with anything in my skincare routine (except for the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser, which I am still in love with). And when my life goes to pot, I usually start obsessing over the state of my skin! 😂 Everything is super affordable and targeted... the obvious downside being that you need a million separate products! Stay tuned...

• Lastly, I've been all about Fleetwood Mac this week. It started with "Go Your Own Way," then moved on to "You Make Loving Fun" (prompted by my reading up on songs featuring the clavinet, which is perfectly normal, right?), and then the floodgates opened. Most important, though, was my reacquantainace with the song "Sara." What a damn gorgeous song. I had just been complaining to Timmi (keeper of my Fleetwood Mac feels apparently) that Christine gets no love in favor of Stevie, and then "Sara" made me rethink my grudge. "Drowning in the sea of love where everyone would love to drown..." 😭😭😭

Hope you have a great weekend!

July 2018 Budget

You guys, I have been buying everything in sight lately! But I apparently still had (some) self-control back in July! 😂 Here’s what I bought:

1. Woman's Wallet with Removable Crossbody Strap (Target):  $17 on sale for $5

2. SP Black Label High Rise Rolled Short (Nordstrom Rack): $43 on sale for $9

3. Darlene Howlite Stone Dagger Ring (Francesca’s):  $14 on sale for $13

TOTAL:  $27

I fell in love with the Francesca’s ring while walking around the mall while particularly out of it with anxiety and depression last month. I didn’t buy it then, but as we learned with my cat scarf, my willpower only lasts about 48 hours! 😂💸 It’s so different and cool-looking, I couldn’t resist. The band turned super quickly, though, which is annoying. 

I had been looking for a slimmer wallet with a detachable crossbody strap, and sign me up for one with iridescent mermaid vibes for $5!

Lastly, these shorts. I had to retire some old jorts this summer, so I was very happy to find these super soft ones at such a big discount! Especially because I don’t usually have much luck with the Nordstrom Rack sale section. I think these exact shorts are sold out, as I couldn't find them on the Rack website, or else I would have linked to them. Womp womp. At least they give me an excuse to post this:

Is this the kind of thing that's only funny after two English degrees?

What did you buy in July?

High Five for Friday: August 3

Anybody else in their feelings this week?! 🙋🏼‍♀️ Let’s see what brought the sparkle:

• PUDGE!! I was reunited with my dear, sweet Pudgie Princess this week (and she is currently nestled beside me purring 😭). She is truly, as Timmi put it, "the best velvet purring loaf." 😂😻

• On Saturday, I went over to Kristin's, where she joked that she was going to "make" me watch The Big Chill. Now, I love The Big Chill—and so does she! So you can imagine our surprise when we couldn't remember any of the characters’ names! Whoops! Also, I'm sad that there's not a gif of my favorite line: Jeff Goldblum, who has had to sleep in one of the kids' airplane-shaped beds, announces (in light of all the other various hook-ups going on in the house) that "I was all alone in my airplane, no co-pilot." I legit say this IRL because I am insane.

• I wasn't going to go to my usual Sunday yoga class, since I was staying at Maggie's with Pudge, but I had a change of heart when I woke up wildly anxious and had watched like half a season of Happy Endings by noon! It was a really great class. We had a sub with the most calming voice, and I managed to get a few minutes of anxiety relief. She was also super positive that I had come at all when I told her how I was feeling, which warmed my heart.

• Maggie's housemate (and one of my fellow YTT gals) Karuna was around this week, which was a godsend. Which I'm super anxious, I have a really hard time being alone with my thoughts and feelings, and Karuna very kindly let me pace around her bedroom and beat her ear! We also had an awesome impromptu Target and tarot night!

• Therapy was another godsend this week. (Three appointments in four days 10/10 would recommend.) I feel so crazy when I get triggered because it's like my system gets completely hijacked—I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't focus on anything, it's just bad news. And then I beat myself up about it, which is obviously super helpful. 🙄My one therapist, though, very gently pointed out that, based on my history, there are just some things that will take me from zero to sixty (even though I would really really prefer they didn't). So in that framework, my reaction is normal (or at least makes more sense). I so compare myself to other people in these moments, but their normal isn't my normal and vice versa. Now I just need to actually get that through my head! 😂

Hope you have a great weekend! xoxo

High Five for Friday: July 27

Oh hey, it’s Friday! ✨ Let’s see what brought the sparkle:

• On Saturday night, I went over to Kristin's for a tarot night! She gifted me this awesome set of tarot cards and guide book (which are not the cards pictured here, although she had given those to me as well LOL), and I proceeded to have the most crazy accurate tarot reading of my life!

We did the "Clarity spread" reading from the Wild Unknown Guidebook, so the card at the top is the "overall situation" in my life and the other three cards are "contributing factors." The question I asked was, "What is the Universe trying to tell me?" The answer was more like, "What does the Universe already know I’m struggling with?"

OH, JUST EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN FEELING LATELY, COOL. (Can you tell that my hormones took me in a depressive direction this month?) Complete with the flying metaphors from last fall too.

And then, I pulled this Angel card, after telling Kristin and Rod that I always pull the "Signs" card:

 😱😱

So the Universe is basically yelling at me, guys. I guess I need to start listening.

• This Kodak moment likely would not have happened had I saged Sharkey like I offered to! 😂

• On Sunday, Pops was out all day, and when the cat's away, the mice will play... which means breaking out the nail polish! I love painting my nails, but I hadn't done it in ages because Pops hates the smell. But having my nails painted this gorge gold-infused purple (Zoya Zara) has given Stella (some of) her groove back!

• I also picked up the howlite ring above at Francesca's this week! 😍

• I randomly started watching Happy Endings on Hulu this week, which is a great show if you're just looking for a fun comedy. I have fallen in love with Adam Pally and his adorable/fantastic accent, and Damon Wayans Jr. is just hilar.

exhibit A

• One extra thing, since it was a big week in Philly sports, what with Chase “The Man” Utley being in town likely for the last time before retiring:

My bffl and I love “The World Series Defense” ep of It’s Always Sunny. We have witnessed dudes at Citizens Bank Park basically weeping over Chase, so Mac’s love letter really isn’t too far off!  

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

High Five for Friday: July 20

Let’s see what put the sparkle into this week:

• On Saturday, you know what I really wanted to do? Hear the ocean and have a vanilla milkshake! (Vanilla is generally not my first choice for anything ever, so I have no idea where this was coming from!) So that’s what I did! I’ve now driven down the shore TWICE!! 🎉🎉

• Sunday was about a thousand degrees—I went for a walk and had to lay down on the floor under the air conditioner afterwards to recover! So it was definitely an ice cream day! We went to Pops’s favorite place (Handel’s), and I got Peppermint Stick for a change. It was SO GOOD. 

• On Wednesday, I don’t know what possessed me to do this, but I called into a radio contest! 😂🤷🏼‍♀️ I knew the answer, and no one else had gotten it right, so I was like, "What the hell!" I didn’t end up getting through but maybe next time! I love this game called “Connect 3” on the classic rock station—they play three songs, and you have to figure out what they have in common. The three songs on Wednesday were “Gypsy,” “Breakfast in America,” and “Stuck in the Middle with You.” Any thoughts?

• How fun is this wallet that I found for $5 at Target?! The iridescent mermaid vibe makes me so happy! 😍😍 And it also has a removable crossbody strap, which I'm super pumped about. I love me a multitasking wallet!

• Lastly, I got a clean bill of health yesterday! I don’t think I’ve talked about this on here before, but two summers ago, I noticed a lump in my breast. Given my anxiety, you can imagine how calmly I handled that! But I went to the doctor, who assumed it was just something normal and benign (thank god one of us is sane) and sent me for more testing. It turned out to just be a normal, benign cyst (WHEW), but I’ve had to go back for regular check-ups ever since. Yesterday, though, they told me that everything looks good, meaning that I don’t need to be monitored as closely! HOORAY! I’m a lucky gal. ❤️

Hope you have a great weekend! xo