So, I told you what I was leaving behind in 2019 . Some of my friends shared their thoughts on this topic as well. Now, let's talk about what I'm bringing with me from 2019 to 2020! But first, in case you don't hear it from anyone else, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Why am I bringing anything from this trash year into 2020? Well, first of all, you can't throw the whole year in the trash, people! Yes, 2019 brought with it some challenges. Heck, it brought with it some serious  challenges, but that doesn't mean that everything that ever happened at any time on any day in 2019 was all bad and that there weren't any lessons learned. That can't be so, y'all. I refuse to accept that, and so should you. And with that, here are the 6 things I'm bringing with me to 2020: ...

Last year was the first year where I introduced my Things I'm Leaving Behind post. It was popular, I thought I'd try it again this year! I am joined again by a few of my friends in the fitness world who are leaving some things behind as well. Here's what I said last year about why I put together this list: I know we've all seen a bunch of posts on social media with folks reflecting on their year, posting their favorite members, and talking about their resolutions for 2019. At the end of each year, I like to reflect on the year and recalibrate for the upcoming year. I don't necessarily do "resolutions" in the traditional sense, but I'm all about setting goals throughout the year anyway, so why not set some more at the dawn of a new year? So this year, I'm trying something new: I'm choosing 10 specific things I'm leaving behind in 2018, for real for real. Throughout the year, I told myself to stop doing these things, but I'm st...

I'm a goal setter. I set monthly goals, weekly goals, annual goals, 5-year goals - you name it! In planning out my goals for 2020, I decided to dig around the internet a bit to see what some of the emerging trends for 2020 might be. The most scientific and thorough research I found on this topic was from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health & Fitness Journal 's November/December 2019 edition . The article, " Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2020 ," marks their 14th year producing their trend predictions. I think they did a pretty good job last year , so I felt like they were a great source for this list! I also compared it to the ELLE article " The Biggest Fitness Trends Of 2020: From Micro HIIT To Walking Clubs ," as well as the Metro (UK) article, " The Hottest Fitness Trends for 2020 ." There are some notable differences in the articles, some with which I agree and others which I disagreed, but I also think they...

If you watched my stories over the weekend, you saw that I instantly fell in love with Follain , before I even left the Follain Bethesda Row  brick-and-mortar store! When I say Follain rocked my world (which sounds so dramatic, I know), I really mean it: Beauty, makeup, and skincare products I thought were "clean beauty" products really are not even close by Follain's standards. In fact, before I even attended the event at the store, I checked out their Restricted Ingredients list and was SHOOK! I went deep into the rabbit hole for hours (when I should've been sleeping!) and come to the following conclusion: I am going to have to throw out everything in my house! ...

Yes, I acknowledge that we're already into December, but it doesn't mean I can't still set goals! (I got a delayed start on the month anyway, so cut me some slack please!) First, let's review how I did on my November goals , then we can talk about my goals for December. ...

If you understand what I'm referencing in the title of this post, just know that I'm sitting here singing, "Oh Happy Day!" whilst catching up on all of my DVR recordings of How to Get Away With Murder . Life is really about balance, ya know? Alright, so what was up with me this week? Well, I started out the week in a mountain of covers, armed with Dayquil, tissues, and cough drops. While I took off work on Monday, I forced myself back into a routine on Tuesday - at half speed, nonetheless - because I could not spend another day in bed with this cold! The doc says that the cold could last 1-2 weeks, and I was over it the moment he said it. Here's what I got into this week, despite the prognosis: ...

Last weekend, I went to Shenandoah National Park, which is located along Skyline Drive in Virginia. It is absolutely beautiful, with breathtaking views, wildlife, and at times the feeling of being wild and free. Shenandoah National Park isn't exactly nearby, which makes it a nice little mini getaway for folks in the DC Area. The original plan was to get a group of friends together for an all-day hike, but that plan fell through. Everyone changed their plans or didn't feel up to being outdoors in the cool weather. It was all good, though. It made for a quick little adventure date for my boyfriend and me. I hadn't gone hiking in cold weather in a long time, or maybe ever?, so I wasn't quite sure what to wear. After a quick Google search, I decided, yep! Still didn't know what to wear. I eventually pieced together a few different pointers from different websites and decided I would share what I learned with all of you lovely people. :-) ...

This post is sponsored by TriState Moving and Storage ; nonetheless, this post is only filled with my honest thoughts!  First things first: I am not moving this month. In fact, our goal is to move in the summer. This brings me to the very point of this post: When you’re a super busy, active person, you have to get a jump start on moving so that you can chop away at it a little bit at a time! The longer you wait to tackle the challenge of moving, the harder it gets, and the more negative your experience. Moving is stressful enough without adding self-inflicted stress on top of it! Moving is one of those things that is always miserable for me, which is why my goal is to hire professional movers to make an already complicated process quicker, easier, and less complicated than it absolutely has to be (and less painful on all of my muscles! Moving without professional help is so physically demanding!). Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the bes...

Overview: I did a bit of swimming, strength training, and actually played volleyball this week! The Sweat Pink #HolidaySweat Challenge started this week, and so far I have checked off my 10 minutes of exercise each day. ...