AMAZON TEDDY COATS

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AMAZON GIFT GUIDE

CLICK THROUGH TO MY SHOP MY AMAZON FINDS

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FALL TARGET WISH LIST

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THIS WEEKS FAVORITES

Here are a few of my favorite Amazon finds this week! Click to shop below.

CLICK TO SHOP

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MOTO COOL UNDER 50$

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READY FOR FALL?

My mom would never let me out of the house in this outfit. But if YOU like it, click the links below for Amazon dupes!

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AMAZON TOP 5

Hello beautiful people, I know we are all too familiar with the shopping rabbit hole that is AMAZON. Well, I've bought a few items from them and I know it can be overwhelming, so I've decided to share my top 5 in hopes that this will help you narrow down your search for a few things.

1. This fan has saved my marriage in the last few months. Menopause has my temps fluctuating and this fan has kept me from "angry staring" at my husband while he sleeps curled up in a blanket as I burn from the inside out every 20 minutes. It's black (my favorite color), chic, and easy to assemble. Just ask my husband who had it put together minutes out of the box:) At $24.99 it's way more affordable than a marriage counselor. Click the image for more info!

2. The Brita Extra Large 18 Cup Filtered Water Dispenser has made us feel better about ourselves as a family. I hate to admit it, but up until Spring 2019, my family was purchasing an obscene amount of plastic water bottles by the case, weekly. In my heart, I knew it wasn't right, but convenience and habit won over social consciousness for years. I finally found a solution that would work for our family. It's economical, easy, and fits beautifully into our small space living decor.

3. To aid our transition from plastic bottles to at home-filtered water, I purchased this cute gallon water bottle. I've had a lot of inquiries, as it not only holds water, but is very cute and instagrammable with it's motivational quotes every few sips. It's honestly like having a hype man in the form of jug. Click the pic.

4. We upgraded our kettle and couldn't be happier. This new kettle is not only quiet, but esthetically pleasing. We definitely like treating ourselves to fancy drinks from the local coffee shop, but there's something alluring about watching this kettle come to a boil. It makes at home tea and coffee seem that much cooler when there's a blue light involved. Trust me.

5. I love our loft apartment, I do. But times have changed and we have a teenage son, who needs and deserves a tiny bit more space and a tiny bit more privacy. These room dividers plus some donated curtain panels have been a game changer. My husband and I put them up together and my son is enjoying his new space!

Thanks for reading,

Nikki

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MY HUSBAND WORKS AT EQUINOX.

So, there's this guy who used to work for the phone company and decided to quit and follow his passion for acting. He became an actor and steadily built his resume over a span of 20 years. Then he felt a pull to relocate to the mecca of acting opportunity, Los Angeles. During a span of almost a decade, he struggled with the balance of family, work, and passion. He felt as though one area could not thrive without the other one suffering. And then, as he usually did, he turned to fitness to relieve some stress and provide some clarity. His journey lead him to a fitness club called Equinox, where he trained, and studied, and trained some more. Slowly he built up a loyal clientele and real connections with people. On my last visit to the club, what should have been an hour workout, became a 2 hour tour. I looked on as he dipped in and out of conversations, often introducing me to different co-workers and clients. It was a dance that involved carefully curated hand shakes and high fives, each customized to fit each bond shared. It was lovely.

This week the news broke that Equinox owner, billionaire Stephen Ross, is planning a fundraiser for President Donald Trump on Friday in Southampton, N.Y.  Things got interesting. The night the news broke, I laid restless in bed.  I checked twitter updates on and off until the sun came up, wondering how my very liberal husband would navigate his day. To my surprise, he was not freaking out, he didn't furrow his brow or even seem to be interested in talking about it. I checked in that day with texts like "you ok?" "lmk if you need to talk" "I know this must be hard, I love you". He responded with single words which reassured me that he was fine. When he came home he told me the front desk turned into the front line as they were busy fielding a higher volume of calls, while trainers and clients continued on with their fitness routines.

An acquaintance of his reached out with a question. "What are you going to do?". I'll be honest, I had the same question. To which he responded "Keep working". What did we expect him to do? Well, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I visualized my very liberal husband terminating his employment with Equinox all while holding a bullhorn and giant sign that read "#boycottequinox", but he didn't.  Our family relies on that income to survive, and quitting would cause turmoil in our lives. My question to you is, what would you do? Do you think this decision makes us hypocrites? Do you think this decision means we support the Trump movement? Do you think this decision means we are ok with families being ripped apart?

I'm not sure I want to hear the answers to my above questions, but I do want to share that even though my husband was pretty convincing that he was doing ok with all of it. I'm listening to him cough and sniffle as I write. His body forced him to leave work early yesterday and call in sick today.  

Thanks for reading,

Nikki Pin It

JIMI HENDRIX TANK

My Jimi Hendrix tank top just went on sale! It's perfect for hot summer nights. 

Click the link if you're interested.

JIMI HENDRIX TANK $20

Best,

Nikkii

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MOTO JACKET STYLE

I'd been wanting to add a solid vegan moto jacket to my collection for a while, and found a great deal at work! If you're looking for one too, Zara has a great version, check it out!

$69.99

CLICK FOR ZARA DUPE

love,

Nikki

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TROPICAL VACATION SET

 I'm obsessed with my new job! 

Check out this set, perfect for this summer's vacation.

CLICK TO BUY

Love,

Nikki

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SUMMER MAXI DEAL

Looking for a summer maxi? Check out this great deal from Forever 21. $19, act quickly, the one I'm wearing sold out fast! 

SUMMER MAXI $19

Click the link, and let me know if you buy one!

Best,

Nikki

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SELF CARE SUNDAY

I THINK I'VE DISCOVERED A NEW PASSION.

Everybody's heard the phrase "self care" by now. You probably rolled your eyes when you said those two words together. Social media has been saturated with the term for months now. Even I'm kind of over it. What I'm NOT over is the concept of taking care of ourselves in order to be the best we can be in this life.

A few months ago I started to become really unsettled in my life. My son was adjusting to high school life, spending more time with friends and my husband was thriving in his career and in the best shape of his life. With my family doing so well, I was really able to spend time reflecting on my own happiness. Not just the temporary fix when I had a day off and treated myself to a long walk and an overpriced coffee, but a real deep look at myself. What I saw was a woman about to turn 50 years old, working 40 hours a week at job that took more out of her than she received. Some days I would not even want to talk to my family for a solid hour after being home.

My google history search looked a lot like this:

Mid life crisis...
Career pivot...
How to be happy in your job...
Bloggers over 50 making money...
how to grow your own food...

I stumbled upon some solid advice that said, "if you're unhappy, do something nice for someone else". It made sense to me. I started to plan a get together with some friends, with the strict rule that no one was to show up with food or wine or a hostess gift. I wanted them to have a nice time focussing on themselves. Planning the theme and gathering all the supplies and little take away treat bags made me feel SO GOOD. It was on a Sunday morning, there was 7 of us and we talked about how each of us practiced (or needed to practice) self care before heading to our stations to start on our vision boards. My guests chattered away over snacks and mimosas, each creating their own little piece of art in the process.

After I said my last goodbye, I felt a sense of gratitude that I hadn't felt in a long time. With the help of my co-workers, I began to plan another "Self Care Sunday" event, this time for some customers at work. My friends at work each helped in their own way, from proofreading the invitation, to brainstorming over the details. The time leading up to the event did not even FEEL LIKE WORK, and the event was a huge success.

The best feeling was a couple of days later, when one of the guests came back in to thank me for giving her the time to hang out and create. She said she felt so great afterwards and would try to continue to take a little time for herself each week. And that's when it hit me, I needed to find a way to do this on the regular.

Thanks for reading,

Nikki

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HOW CAN I HELP?

Something happened yesterday that sent me into a downward spiral. I was at work having an average day when I saw one of my favorite customers trying to get through the door with her 18 month old baby in his stroller. We have a lot of parents with strollers shopping daily, and although any mom can manage a door, a stroller,  a thousand bags of groceries, and a ringing cell phone simultaneously, my girl was struggling a bit. Now, the back story is, about 3 minutes before, a woman entered the store with a gift box in her hand and the need for attention in her voice. 

The front door swung open: "Hello! I need help! You can help me? You can help me!" 

The woman, let's call her "Rudina", approached me with a panicked tone. 

Me: "Sure! How can I help?" In my head there is another dialogue completely.

Me- in my head: (major eye roll) Let me guess, you're late, you're in a rush, you're the queen of the world and you need me, your humble servant, to fix everything?"

Rudina: "I need an envelope and I need you to punch a hole in it and attach it with string!"

Me- in my head: "No."

Me actually: "Let me show you what we have, I can let you borrow a hole punch and if you'd like to attach it, we have ribbon for sale."

Her: "I just need one envelope and some string? Can't I just buy one envelope and some string?!" 

Me: "Let me show you what we have."

I escorted her to the envelopes and showed her ribbon.

Rudina: "Perfect! I just have to go get something from my car!! I'll be right back! I'm in such a hurry!"

Think I'm over using exclamation marks in this story? I'm not, her situation was URGENT guys. She flew out of the store and I had that feeling in my pit of my stomach. I immediately checked the time to see how long I had before it was time to clock out.  Dang it, an hour and a half left to go. 

Me, in my head: "You got this girl, you are so fortunate to have a job, you like the people you work with, heck you even crafted today! Life is good. Don't complain, don't complain, don't complain."

When I looked up from the clock I saw my customer Dana at the door and smiled as I approached her to help.

Me- in my head: "See? Everything's fine! This lovely person and her adorable child are going to make you feel great about life."

And then,  Rudina came up behind them, put one hand on the stroller and STEPPED OVER IT.  Yes, stepped over the adorable 18 month old baby, with the mother holding the door open, struggling to enter....

Sorry, I'm back, I literally just sat back on the sofa and relived the moment. Dana and I stared at each other with our mouths open for what seemed like 15 minutes. I opened the door, and Dana came all the way through and headed straight for Rudina to let her know how incredibly rude she was.  

Rudina replied "I'm in such a rush!"

Dana: "I don't care how much of a hurry you are in! You just saw that I needed help and then stepped over my child. You had to put your hand ON the stroller to get by!!"

Rudina: "I'm sorry, but (turning to me) can you help me?!"

So. Many. Feelings.  I looked at Dana, and she gave me that understanding look that customers give to staff members when they witness bad behavior from another customer and headed to the back of the store. I gave Rudina her emergency envelopes and ribbon, and my lovely co-worker swooped in and took over for me. 

I went over to check on Dana and her son.  We chatted about what happened as her son happily played on the floor. The conversation took twists and turns as we shared our experiences living in L.A. The good, the bad, and the self involved. We talked about our lives as moms who want more out of life. We've both seen success in our creativity, but both are feeling stagnant. We connected, and it was nice. But, I couldn't help but feel sad as we said goodbye. Her son gave out a couple of hugs and I held the door open for them and watched them as they continued on their way. 

The sadness stayed with me all night, I cried a little, drank a little, and slept a little. And at 430am I woke up with questions.  Do I want to live the rest of my life helping people? Am I helping the wrong people? Do I need help?  Seriously, it's time for a change. I need to answer some hard questions and I'm scared because I don't have all the answers and I'm almost 50.  Do you think Rudina laid in bed this morning asking herself the same questions? I doubt it, but I do have to thank her for pushing me to this point. I need a solid game plan for the next 50 years.

Thanks for reading,

Nik

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FOR YOU AND FOR ME

I had an interesting conversation with one of my sisters the other day. It was about the choices we make career wise. She sometimes feels an indirect pressure from comments made during casual  conversations. An unspoken judgement about her choice to stay in a job that has offered her years of security, travel and most importantly time to raise her family. Now I'm watching an episode of The Real and they are discussing "Complacency vs. Contentment". So here's a question for you.  Are you happy?

I'm very familiar with the feeling that my sister was expressing, thankfully that judgement comes from strangers, never family or friends. Instead of making a list of resolutions for 2019, I have another challenge for you. Make a list of things that make you happy. Truly happy. Then try and move towards making those things happen. It could be something that you do once a day, it could be something that takes 3 years to save for. Let's take some pressure off of ourselves. I have nothing against new year resolutions, this is probably the 3rd year of my life that I haven't made them. Last year I did, but this year I'm in a different place. 

Also, if you can achieve your happy within a work day, great! Sometimes this means leaving the building on your breaks to focus on something other than work. Over the holiday season, my co-workers and I danced, sang, and even did a few sun salutations to make it through the most stressful time of year! Try it, I promise you, it works. If you are not able to achieve any of your happy during a work day, then it may be time to have a bigger conversation with yourself. Here's a link to a great article if you think it's time for a career change, 7 signs you've outgrown your job.

I'm sharing my shortlist with you, I hope it helps you jumpstart your "happiness list"

1. Love
2. Walking
3. Creativity
4. Travel
5. Styling

Thanks for reading,
Nikki

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