Baseball. For me, that means driving hours to sit in a folding chair, literally freezing to death, watching seven innings of high school baseball. That’s okay because I love my kid and he loves baseball. After many years of this, it has just occurred to me that I could be more prepared. This year I’m investing in a box of hot hands and maybe a thermos. Soon enough I’m sure it’ll be too hot and then I’ll need a portable air conditioner.
After a lot of discussion and many nights of scrolling through travel sites, we decided to call the travel agent who booked our Disney trip. Jennie designed the perfect trip for us, originally described as “anywhere warm enough in February where I can live in a swimsuit”. And is not touristy, crowded, or feels like we didn’t leave the US. Also has amazing food. And right on the beach? She came through and then some. We booked it and finally the time came, we flew to Playa del Carmen, just the two of us and it was absolute perfection.
WHAT I PACKED:
4 swimsuits: black Everlane one-piece, blue Athleta one-piece, black J. Crew two-piece, blue Roxy two-piece, and striped J. Crew rash guard
2 dresses: Madewell embroidered dress, Sundry striped dress
4 pairs of shorts: white Madewell denim cutoffs, Target white chinos, blue Patagonia baggies, black Everlane shorts
2 pairs long pants: Hudson blue jeans, black J. Crew linen drawstring pants
3 tank tops: black Banana Republic tank, navy GAP tank, blue LOFT tank
3 tees: blue David Bowie tee, gray Banana Republic tee, striped long sleeve J. Crew breton
2 sweaters/sweatshirts: black Santa Cruz sweatshirt, cotton navy J. Crew sweater
3 pairs of shoes: Nike daybreak sneakers, brown J. Crew sandals, black Rainbow flip flops
3 bags: J. Crew woven tote, Element backpack, olive green duffle
1 hat: black GAP baseball cap
I fit everything into a nylon duffle and was able to avoid checking any baggage. And I didn’t buy anything new for the trip.
DAY ONE: I wore Jeans, the Bowie tee, and a sweatshirt, with Nikes. We flew from Philly to Cancun. After we settled into the resort I changed into my striped dress and sandals for dinner.
DAY TWO: I wore my Everlane one-piece, white jean shorts, navy tank, and flip flops. We spent all day lying on a Bali bed by the beach and reading. At night there was a Mexican fiesta on the beach with an amazing buffet, dancers and a Mariachi band.
DAY THREE: I wore my black J. Crew bikini with the rashguard, black Everlane shorts, blue tank, and Nikes. The absolute highlight of the trip: a tour of the ruins at Tulum, plus a Cenote, a lagoon snorkel, and lunch at a beach club.
DAY FOUR: I wore my blue Roxy bikini, with the striped dress as a coverup. Later I changed into my black linen pants, striped breton, and sandals for dinner.
DAY FIVE: I wore my navy blue Athleta one-piece, white jean shorts, and flip flops. We went on a tour of the premium part of the resort and then went Jet skiing. I changed into my embroidered dress and sandals for dinner.
DAY SIX: I wore the black J. Crew two-piece again, baggies shorts, black tank, and flip flops. We went on a Catamaran snorkel tour. There is a world renown coral reef off the coast of Cancun and you almost don’t need a boat to get there. I saw so many tropical fish as well as a turtle and a manta.
DAY SEVEN: I wore the blue bikini again and did a lot of nothing. Really getting used to living in the Caribbean and have no plans of leaving.
DAY EIGHT: I wore my last clean outfit: white chino shorts and gray tee. We spent a little bit of time on the beach before checking out and heading to the airport to fly back.
Almost every day I woke up before the sun without an alarm and walked on the beach while the sun rose over the ocean. It was so beautiful. I cannot recommend Mexico enough. Everyone is so friendly and laidback. We did water aerobics and played volleyball and got to know some of the other guests. The food was excellent, the weather was perfect. Thank you El Dorado Maroma for the best vacation ever. And to Jennie at Evergreen Travel for making it happen.
I LOVE A SMOOTHIE BOWL.
I used to think the whole idea was weird and didn’t understand them. They seemed so unnecessarily complicated and I wondered why people bothered. Now I’m totally on board. They are always slightly different but generally include banana, mixed frozen fruit, spinach, protein powder, almond milk, and then are topped with granola and kiwi, strawberry, or blackberries if I have them. I blend them with a Ninja Bullet blender. Super fast and easy.
This granola is very good. I usually make my own sugar-free granola but when I ran out, I was happy to find this. Highly recommend.
This blender is a workhorse. We use ours almost every day.
I like this brand of protein powders. Both the vanilla and the chocolate.
Hello friends, fruit lovers.
When I was a child, the only juice in our house was orange juice. It was made from a can of frozen concentrate, the cheap generic brand. And my dad watered it down. We drank it only at breakfast.
Fast forward to today, our grocery list includes some if not all of the following: OJ, lemonade, cranberry juice, cranberry/pomegranate juice, grape juice. We ofter mix them with carbonated water from our SodaStream. Our fridge also contains Gatorade (only “the blue”), Celsius energy drinks, Fairlife protein shakes, Diet Coke, and La Croix (lime).
I know juice has a lot of sugar and is only marginally better than soda. There was a time when many people thought juicing was super healthy. Then they questioned whether they were actually just consuming a lot of fruit-based sugar without the benefit of fiber. Back when I was in college, my mom gave me a giant industrial juicer which I never used. When our apartment was robbed, and they took the juicer I was actually grateful.
Now I’m sort of wishing I had one. I do have a Ninja Bullet for making smoothies and smoothie bowls and it’s great, but I suspect I need a juicer in order to blend hardier things like carrots, celery, apples, and the like. Just like with my smoothies, I think the trick to limiting the amount of sugar in a juice is to include veggies. Kale and spinach are practically undetectable. Coconut water or almond milk add liquid without adding more sweetener when you already have frozen fruit in there. Protein powders, oats, chia seeds and almond butter all add fiber and/or protein, not more sugar.
If you’re in the market for a juicer, here are a few options I’m considering. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Just so you know.)
MATCHES MY BLENDER | NINJA
AFFORDABLE ONE | HAMILTON BEACH
PRETTIEST/SPLURGE | BREVILLE
GREEN JUICE
When I was in Mexico recently, I tried Jugo Verde. It was amazing. When I asked what was in it, they said, “cucumber, cactus, parsley, orange, and pineapple.” If I had a juicer, I would definitely make this.
I recently found some of my old artwork from college. And by “found”, I mean drove to the house of my roommate’s parents, and took them home to my house. The art, not the parents. Why my artwork wasn’t moldering in my own parents’ house, I can’t tell you. All these years I knew I needed to go get them. I planned to go get them. And I thought, when I get them, I’ll flip through them, remembering those idyllic days, and then toss them in the trash. But, you know what? I actually was impressed by some of the pieces. Impressed by my talent and also the talent of my professors who managed to extract something not-bad from that young artist-to-be. Now they aren’t masterpieces, they’re homework assignments. Exercises, practice pieces. But they all have a certain something. A somewhat satisfying quality that seemed to be innately me. Of course they aren’t all the work, in all media, that I produced in those four years, just a mysterious collection that got separated from the rest. I didn’t even major in Fine Art or Painting but Photography. So here is a small random collection of work that I did all those years ago.
