Hi there, friends! Long. Time. No. Talk!

I’ve never allowed a blog hiatus of this magnitude since starting the blog back in 2013. To say I’m excited to be back is an understatement! I am home for a few weeks before another trip so I can’t wait to get back to being able to put dedicated time and energy into the blog posts you’ve been wanting from me! I thought it’d be fun to share a few things that I’ve been loving and gravitating toward over the last few weeks / month!

Let’s get started!

Jumpsuits

My love for jumpsuits has reached an all-time high this year! I wore this one in Cuba and this one in Mykonos. I featured this one earlier this year on the blog for all of you brides-to-be! Last week in London, I wore this one that just came out by Ali & Jay. I love the colors in the floral print and the overall fit. The stretch material at the top accommodates any bust size and there’s enough room in the hip area to make us all look and feel great! Some other jumpsuits I’ve worn recently are here, here, here, and here.

I’ve rounded up some others I’ve seen that are super cute and worth considering:

Truffle Travel Cases

I’m going to be reviewing these in greater detail in an upcoming travel bag post but I can’t not include Truffle Travel Cases in today’s post because they have been one of my favorite product purchases as of late! I carry two of this case in my travel tote – one keeps my moisturizing eye patches, travel toothpaste & toothbrush, and a few skincare products and the other one carries other knick-knacks I may need during my long flight like an extra set of contacts, contact solution, sleeping mask, a pack of vitamins, headache medicine, lip balm, contact case, USB cord, a small box with some jewelry that I don’t want stored in my checked bag, etc. I also carry one of these bags that carries a few blank cards, my external hard drive, my external charger, a couple of cords, a pen, lip glosses, a small case with coins in it, etc. I absolutely love that everything is organized and my bag isn’t a mess. They are all the PERFECT size and I love that you can see IN them, as well. They’re also TSA approved so you can easily put your liquids in one and take it out for security purposes without having to empty everything into a bag!

Hair Accessories

Pearl clips are ALL. THE. RAGE. right now and I am here for it! I shared some of my favorite hair accessories in this post [along with my favorite hair products and tools] but, when I thought about some of the things I’ve been loving lately, I couldn’t help but bring this one up again! I think it’s been such a fun trend to embrace this Spring and can’t wait to keep it going this Summer. I just snagged this set of sea shell clips that I think will be so fun to wear with swimmies at the beach! I also grabbed this large-and-in-charge faux fur hair scrunchie at Ulta because I have a lot of hair and little ones just haven’t been cutting it lately!

Living Free

I mentioned yesterday on IG stories that this has been the longest blog hiatus that I have taken since starting my blog back in 2013. I used to put so much pressure on myself to have a blog post up 4-5 times a week as well as at least two Instagram’s a day. That was what the standard was in my mind. Putting long-form content together is my absolute favorite aspect of what I do but, as time has gone on and my interests and life has changed, that has become harder and harder to accomplish. Not to mention, the landscape of this industry has changed and how y’all consume content has changed, especially with the introduction of IG stories. Y’all also have so many more influencers to choose to consume content from these days so, to be honest, it can be hard to determine how to move forward and what the best use of my time would be. Over the last year, I’ve worked really hard on having a healthier mentality in regard to work. I’ve tried to exercise grace and relinquish the shame I feel over not hitting that standard I’ve set in my mind. To be honest, the standard is so unrealistic and I know that … yet, I get mad at myself for not doing it all. It can be hard to be proud of how your path looks different than others who are in the same space, as well. It can also be challenging to accept that you’re not a failure just because the season you’re in is different than it used to be. So, those are things I’ve been working on.

In the short window of time that I had between London / Amsterdam and my trip to Cuba, I was able to hustle and get quite a few blog posts put together for you guys to enjoy while I was out of commission in Cuba, as they don’t have widely available WiFi like we do here. However, on this recent trip to Greece, for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to do the same so there was radio silence here on the blog. I maintained a presence on IG stories and posted on IG every day but it was so strange for me not to put any energy toward the blog.

And, while I wish I could have posted, I can proudly say that I didn’t shame myself once for it. This job doesn’t stop but, to be honest, I’m learning that it should sometimes and that it’s okay to just do what you can because our energy should be given to multiple aspects of your life that make you happy. And this industry can almost encourage people to work ALL the time just to product more and more and more content to remain relevant.

It’s been refreshing to give myself the space to do what I can when I can and grace to be okay with what doesn’t get done.

Charlotte Tilbury Products

Before leaving for Victoria’s bachelorette party, I shared how I had been looking for an under-eye concealer that was comparable in quality and coverage to a long-time drug store beauty product that I have decided to stop using because it isn’t cruelty free. A friend recommended the Magic Away Concealer by Charlotte Tilbury because she knew I love the applicator of the other concealer so much and also knew that the Magic Away Concealer applicator was the same. It’s the little things, what can I say? I’m so thankful she knew that and recommended it because it’s literally been the most perfect replacement. I know it feels nice to feel like you’re saving money on beauty products by purchasing drug-store brands but most of them aren’t cruelty free so, I just can’t get behind them anymore.

ICYMI: Last year, I shared a list of cruelty-free beauty brands I love! Thankfully, there are a lot of great ones, including some that won’t break the bank!

Charlotte Tilbury products are cruelty free so I’m proud to use them and their quality is amazing! Aside from the Magic Away Concealer, I’ve also been loving their Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder and Magic Cream [I use it as my morning moisturizer and primer]. During the Sephora sale, I snagged this Glowgasm Beauty Highlighter Wand in the Peachgasm color. I haven’t tried it yet but will report back on IG stories with a little review! Also, this product and this product both seem like great products for Summer. I’m tempted to grab them to test out on a trip to the Caribbean I have coming up!

Okay, your turn! What five things are you loving lately?? I’m all ears!

Thanks for stopping by today, loves! Appreciate it! I’ve missed y’all! xo.