Happy New Year!
I know we are well into January but it still feels like a fresh year for me. I’ve taken a little social media hiatus and focused on clearing my head this month and starting new habits. I’m doing the usual January things like cleaning out closets, organizing drawers, and purging all the clutter. I will say, not scrolling my phone really is so freeing for my headspace. Instead, I look out the window or engage with the dog or read a book and I feel a new sense of connection to the world around me. It’s amazing how much social media impacts our minds, even when we aren’t physically looking at it.
However, I am back in action and planning on being much more intentional with how I engage. I hope to spend more time painting and creating meaningful content. I dug deep into some of my photo boxes and it just brought some joyful memories of my original blogging days and all the beautiful photos I wouldn’t have taken if I hadn’t had a mission for each picture. This little corner of the internet is such a beautiful time capsule for me (especially as it relates to motherhood) and though I’ve changed my content quite vastly the last few years, I always resort to my WHY. And that’s my life’s pursuit of always being creative and sharing that joy with others.
Anyway, January has been refreshing and cleansing and I thought I’d share some of the stuff I’ve been up to!
FIRST: I got BBL/Moxi. Have you heard of it? I decided a few months ago that I wanted to tackle the melasma I developed from having babies and I did it through a facial laser process called BBL/Moxi. Essentially I zapped off a layer of my face. BBL uses broadband light to target the pigmentation and redness in skin and in just one week, there is a noticeable difference. I looked very scary for a few days (holy swollen!) and my skin felt like sandpaper, but already, I’m seeing immense change in those deep fine lines and freckles. I love it!
If you are in the Austin area and interested in this, I highly recommend Jenny from Restora. You can see on her feed lots of clients with before and after pictures and get details of the process. Most people get this type of treatment in the Fall and Winter when they are able to take a break from the sun. I did not have my face in the sun for a whole week after this treatment and trust me, when you get your results, you won’t want to! The first day, my face looked like I had worked out really hard and was slightly sunkissed. The second day I woke up to facial swelling. It was slightly less intense on day three and by day four, I was just dousing my face in moisturizer every hour. It felt like sandpaper. I literally went through an entire bottle of extreme cream (which I 10/10 recommend and is similar to Augustine Bader but a fraction of the price!).
But at the one week mark, as I washed my face, I looked in the mirror and felt like a whole layer of freckles had completely fallen off. The pictures I shared don’t do it justice. I’m truly amazed not only by the pigmentation that was targeted but even my purple bags under my eyes are softer!
With this process, I had to share my skincare top faves. My skincare routine has become almost sacred to me and I’ve found consistency in the last year with products that really seem to make a difference.
1.The first is EltaMD tinted sunscreen. It’s a physical sunscreen instead of a chemical which means that it reflects UV light instead of absorbing it. It keeps your skin from getting hot and seems to be the best for maximum sun protection (according to my esthetician).
2. I have been on the hunt for an extreme moisturizer and I love this extreme creme. I mentioned above that it’s similar to Augustine Bader (it’s super rich and creamy) but it’s way more affordable. I use this both in the morning and at night. Another one I love (that’s even cheaper) is COSRX moisturizing cream. And it’s available on Amazon.
3. I have been using the Clarin’s de-puffing mask for a year now. Honestly, the best part about it is how soft and velvety it feels when you have the mask on. You know that feeling when you do a mud mask and then your skin starts feeling dry and your desperate to take the caky mud off? You never feel that with this. It’s packed with moisture and brightens your skin immediately. It was the first thing I did on day-1 of swelling post laser treatment.
4. Skinceuticals CE Ferulic acid is my most expensive skincare product. I don’t use it every day but when I do, I feel an immediate difference. My skin feels brighter and fuller immediately after I put it on.
5. I have used the Drunk Elephant Luxury Facial oil for years. After cleansing my face at nighttime, I use a thick moisturizer and lock in in with this on top. It’s the best best on dry winter nights.
6. And last but not least, I start every day with this Vitamin C! An important product in waking dull skin and brightening up for the day.
Alright… let’s talk books and shows.
The last book I read in 2024 was back in August during summer travels. Life became busy with the kids and ornament painting but with a fresh year, I’m back in my groove. However, I have started audio books and it’s a game changer! I spend a lot of time in the car and this has been a new way for me to engage and also multi-task. I listen while I paint or while I’m folding clothes and it’s such a great way to escape! My friend gave me a few recommendations and I just finished The Lion Women of Tehran and have recently started The Secret Book of Flora Lee. The narrator for the first booked mentioned was incredible! I think her voice hooked me immediately. I am only a few chapters into the latter and I haven’t been hooked just yet, but I have multiple notes in my phone to put this on my list so I know it’s been recommended to me a few times over. I’m excited to dive deeper!
Ok, so let’s talk shows. What are y’all watching? We just finished the Avicii documentary on Netflix and it was so emotional. If you’re not familiar, Avicii was a DJ that took his life back in 2018. His music was HUGE and still is today. I was curious about the backstory and we were looking for something to watch together and I had no idea how sweet and kind Tim ” Avicii” was. He was a melody genius and the documentary just really highlighted his talents. I kind of wrote him off as another fame-filled young guy who got into drugs but the film really shows his depth and layers. It was heartbreaking at the end but the film really was a great tribute to him.
I finally watched Wicked and loved it. I was a bit skeptical with the press tour Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo crying all the time but the film was really good! The plot was a little heavier than I remembered.
A show Eric and I just started is Landman. It kind of reminds me of Yellowstone except this one is about oil and takes place in the heart of west Texas. We are only one episode in but I’m very intrigued… Lots of recommendations for this so I’m sure it gets really good.
That’s it for now. I have more things that have been floating around my mind but I’ll have to save that for the next coffee read!
