June 2017 – Everything and Nothings

My Music Holy Trinity

Tonight I am seeing Paul Simon at Summerfest. This will be the fourth time seeing Paul Simon there: 1999, 2001, 2006 and 2017. I also saw Simon and Garfunkel in Chicago in 2003. A totally bonkers show where you could tell they don’t get along, but that didn’t stop me from getting tickets to their 2010 reunion tour. Sadly, that show got canceled—and seven years later—it still hasn’t been rescheduled. I saw Paul Simon two weeks ago at Eaux Claires Festival. I missed him on his 2011 tour and I opted not to check out the Paul Simon/Sting double bill in 2014. I have regretted missing both shows. Otherwise, I have seen him on every tour since I was an adult. And recently he’s discussed not doing music anymore, so I’m concerned tonight might be my last time seeing him.

Why is this so upsetting to me? Why have I seen him so often? Because Paul Simon is in my music holy trinity.

If music is a religion, the music holy trinity is the culmination of all the music you listen to defined by three artists.

Continue reading My Music Holy Trinity

Get ready with me! – my summer morning skin routine

Summer is here! Or at least, it’s trying to be? And with summer comes changes to my skin and skin care routine. The first couple of weeks of any season seem to me to be the most frustrating, as nothing seems to be working while my skin has a major freak out about the new weather conditions. And while everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you, I thought I’d share what I’m doing daily to ease into our very loved but short season of summer.

Every morning no matter the season I peel myself out of bed at 5:15 AM and manage to get myself to barre class (or maybe kettlebell depending on the day.) It’s all I can do to put my glasses on and brush my teeth at 5:15 in the morning, so my face just gets splash of water at this point to, if nothing else, wake me up! When I get home I immediately make some coffee (which should probably instead be a fancy green juice or something that will make my skin glow, but let’s be real…) and get on with readying myself for work. Though I cleansed my skin and put lots of good stuff on it before I went to bed, I always still cleanse my face in the morning typically using something oil based like Julep Love Your Bare Face Hydrating Cleansing Oil. It’s not super heavy and is hydrating and doesn’t strip my skin of the good stuff that happened overnight.

A couple of times a week I use an exfoliant. My go to these day is either Dermalogica’s Daily Superfoliant, or Daily Microfoliant. Incidentally, neither of which I can use daily…. my skin becomes too sensitive, but your’s might not – it’s all trial and error and figuring out what works for you. If I have time to exfoliate, I really hope to have time to mask, which I also turn to Dermalogica for the Multivitamin Power Recovery Mask. I like to mask after exfoliation because said exfoliation is going to prep my skin to absorb my mask a bit better, but this mask is amazing to use anytime really…. it’s like an ambulance in a tube (think late nights and too much whiskey.) Continue reading Get ready with me! – my summer morning skin routine

Places I love: New York City

I have been in love with New York City for as long as I can remember. Blame it on Fame. As a kid in the 80s, who didn’t wish they could go to school at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts?!

Consequently, all my favorite things are New York-centric: Annie Hall is my favorite movie, The Great Gatsby is my favorite book and Paul Simon is one of my music holy trinity (along with Prince and Peter Gabriel.) There’s also a romance to the city that never gets old for me.

I made my first trip to NYC when I was 17 and a senior in high school. I thought then—and I still think today—that I would want to live there. And it could still happen.

But for now, I just visit. And lucky for me, my sister lives in Brooklyn, which makes it convenient and much cheaper when you have a place to stay for free. I try to visit at least twice a year—more frequently if I’m lucky—so I have a list of favorite things to do in the city.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I visited with my friend, Tracy who was making her first trip. Tracy is an architect, so I was able to look at the city from a different perspective. And I could be a tour guide, which I love, of course!

Turns out—Jess is visiting NYC in a few weeks—and she requested a list of recommendations for her upcoming trip. Jess has been to NYC but not in a few years.

So this is for Jess—and anyone else that is thinking of visiting NYC. So charge up your phone, bring an extra battery (Google Maps and Snapchat will burn through your charge like whoa) and let’s explore NYC!

In old school David Letterman-style: My Top 10 Things to Do in NYC:

Continue reading Places I love: New York City

What’s In My Gym Bag?

Lololololol… trick question! I don’t actually have a gym bag. Well, unless you count my purse, which is technically a gym bag, and also I keep some of these things in my car, sooooooo… these are the things I just really need to have with me at the gym!

The Plan

Before every gym workout, I like to plot out what is scheduled for the day with an actual pen on actual paper. This prevents, as my husband likes to say, “fuckarounditis”, gives me a picture of what to expect for that day, and keeps my goals moving forward. I’m currently following a strength and conditioning program (from Chrissy King Fitness), and prior to heading to the gym, I’ll write down a clear plan of what my lifts are for the day, and what weights I want to shoot for. I really like keeping this as a journal, because I can easily flip back to see, for example, how heavy my squats were last week versus how much I want to try this week. I also log what and when I ate that day, how I felt overall (strong? dizzy? putzy? on fire??), and if there’s any changes or cues I want to remember for next time. It’s nice to be able to reflect back and adjust as needed. Could I use an app? Sure, but this feels better for me.

The Work

Once I have my plan outlined, I lace up my Chuck Taylors. I would prefer to train barefoot, but that’s frowned upon in commercial gyms, so Chucks it is. The sole in a Chuck is hard and flat (no arch), which kind of mimics being barefoot in a way- I feel just as strong doing kettlebell swings in them vs. barefoot.

The next most important thing for a workout is, obviously, music. Or podcasts. Is it weird that I need music for cardio but prefer to lift to a podcast? Anyway, I’ve been liking my over-ear bluetooth headphones pretty ok, but sometimes they are a bit too hot/sweaty, especially during the summer months. So I’ll switch off with my tried-and-true Yurbuds Inspire corded earbuds. Problem is, then I need something to hold my phone, so I use this super rad running belt. Ok. Fine. It’s a fanny pack. But it’s stretchy and water/sweat resistant and light and holds my phone at the gym, and is also great for walks.

What am I listening to?

Continue reading What’s In My Gym Bag?

One Year Later–Happy Anniversary To Us!!

Time sure does fly when you’re having fun! It’s hard to believe the earth has traveled around the sun one whole time since we launched Everything and Nothings!

We are grateful to have so many people who want to talk about the same things we do and share your experiences in this thing called life with us.

Looking back at the things we shared, we thought we’d go back and each pick two things that a year later–we are still loving! Continue reading One Year Later–Happy Anniversary To Us!!

MeUndies review for you.

Last June, one year ago, I was convinced I had found the best birthday gift for my husband. I just didn’t know that he had found it first. It was a subscription to MeUndies (if I’m being accurate, we now had 2 subscriptions, one of which we did cancel). Anyway, I didn’t know anything about them, I’m not even sure how I discovered them but it seemed fun, and everyone likes a monthly subscription, right? (I always had felt he was a little envious of my monthly Birchbox)

One year later and their ads are all over the place. And though we have since ended his subscription (how many pairs of underwear does a person really need?) they have proven to be selling a really great product.

So, how this works is you pay a monthly subscription fee of $16. That gets you one pair of undies a month, and you choose which style you want at your initial sign up – for men -boxer brief, trunk, boxer or brief, and and which color collection it comes from – the classic solid colors, the bold brighter solid colors, or the adventurous patterns (he went for boxer brief in adventurous.)

Womens cheeky brief and mens boxer brief. Image from meundies.com

One year since his first pair, here are his thoughts:

The first pair still feels good and looks as good as the last pair received. The fabric is super soft and stretchy, but keeps it’s shape, as does the waist band. None of the pairs are losing shape or falling apart. They don’t ride up, and aren’t too tight, nor are they too loose. They don’t have any annoying or scratchy tags. The only con is that some of the brighter color prints have faded with wear and washing, which is to be expected probably.

Also, in my opinion, they look really good on him.

All in all this was a great investment (and actually, writing this has prompted me to sign him up again!). They almost make me consider getting a subscription for myself! (TMI – I don’t wear underwear)

*These MeUndies were bought and paid for by me.

First Impressions: Glossier Invisible Shield SPF35

Ever since Pamela introduced me to Glossier–I’ve been obsessed. First, she bought Jess and me the Balm Dotcom lip balm for Christmas a few years back–and it was great. Then Pamela sang the praises of the Milky Jelly Cleanser–so I had to get it–and I still love it as a gentle way to remove makeup and leave your skin feeling so fresh and so clean. Using Pamela’s 20% off code for the first order, I also got their Phase 2 set which includes the classic Boy Brow–which we all love and I need to repurchase–the Stretch Concealer, which is fab, and a Generation G lip balm. (honestly, i don’t love the lip balm. i think Colourpop has a much better option with their Blotted Lip. it wears better, has more colors and it’s cheaper.) I then tried their Perfecting Skin Tint. It is extremely sheer, easy to apply with your fingers, light on your sking and has become my no-makeup go-to foundation of late. I wear shade “Light.”

And then there’s the Cloud Paint. It is seriously the greatest blush I have ever owned. Per usual–Pamela was the guinea pig and raved about it–so I picked up two. (they have a 2/$30 deal so you save $6 when you buy two. at least that’s my defense and i’m sticking to it!) And now I have all four. They are fantastic!

When they announced their new sunscreen Invisible Shield SPF35 with much fanfare, I was curious.

Continue reading First Impressions: Glossier Invisible Shield SPF35

My camping essentials.

Camping season is upon us! Now with more shelter! My husband and I have always been tent campers, but as fate would have it, this spring we found and purchased a camper (I don’t mean to brag, but it’s not just any camper… it’s a 1972 Airstream!!!) Tent camping – you’re dead to me. Even still, many of my camping essentials remain the same. Here are some of my requirements to survive a long weekend in the woods.

Coffee – More than likely I’ll sleep not quite as good as I do in my own bed at home. You know….. that bed, that is in a house, not on the ground or a less than comfortable mattress of sorts. While I love camping, getting a good night’s rest is a challenge for me. I require lots and lots of coffee in the AM. We always bring pre-ground beans and a french press, which is how we have it at home. Just add hot water and you’re good to go.

Continue reading My camping essentials.

Put A Lime In It: A Poolside Cocktail Guide

SUMMER IS HERE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

I’m really committing to not letting summer pass me by this year, which means Sunday-funday afternoons at the pool are mandatory. While soaking up vitamin D and catching up on my Instagram feed, which beverage should be at arm’s reach?? Let’s discuss options while we cut up some limes:

LOW EFFORT

Beer!

Despite my Wisco heritage, beer is not my go-to, but I really love a light, refreshing Mexican beer with a lime in it on a hot summer day. It’s kind of like a snack, right? I mean, there’s carbs in it? I’m not too picky or bougie about what kind- I can hang with a Corona or a Dos Equis without complaint. I can’t remember if the lime, traditionally, is to keep bugs away or improve the flavor, but either way, it’s in there. Bonus: beer goes great with Pringles, which are a poolside requirement.

Pro Tip: If you’re really feeling summer, or having a pool party*, mix up a batch of frozen margarita and “float” some on top of your beer. This is called an iceberg, and it is our vacation go-to after we are sick of sweet drinks, but still want something fun in the sun (sorry).

*inviting me to your house to watch Blue Crush counts as a “pool party”

Continue reading Put A Lime In It: A Poolside Cocktail Guide