2019

Time to start another new year with a clean slate.

Overall, 2018's resolution of being more mindful was a success! Some of my habits have been life changing (like making the switch to natural deodorant and hitting the gym). Others have inspired me to take action (like giving blood regularly and buying consignment clothing). And some were good at the time but maybe aren't totally doable for me in the long run (like keeping a daily gratitude journal - now I just jot down things I'm grateful for when I'm feeling blue).

Last year's resolution forced me to take a long hard look at my overall expenses, the things I use daily, and my indulgences. Sometimes it was a bit shocking! Questions I asked myself at the end of the year include: Did I really spend that much time on my phone? How in the world am I ever going to pay off my student loan debt? Can I somehow cut down on my eating out/ordering in habit with so many delicious options in NYC? I spent how much on clothing?! Why have I never looked at the ingredients in this thing I use everyday?

And it is with that in mind, that I write my resolutions for 2019:

Pay off debt.
Pause before purchasing.
Save more.
Go green whenever possible.

Here's to a thrifty forward-thinking 2019!

The Second Time Around

MY MINDFUL YEAR - DECEMBER

I purchased clothing from a second hand shop.

Despite my many donations of items to charity over the years, up until recently, I had never before purchased an item from a thrift or consignment shop.

My first instinct was to go into GoodWill and peruse. This turned out to be overwhelming and complete sensory overload for me.



So I scrapped it and went onto ThredUp, the site where I had consigned clothes earlier this year and had made a nice sum from it. This turned out to be more my speed. I was able to sort the clothes by size, brand, and wear-and-tear. I ended up purchasing 3 blouses and a cardigan.

This is something I will absolutely be doing again in the future. The clothes I purchased were all designer. They were all in excellent condition - 2 of the blouses even had the original tags on them! It's good for the planet and for my wallet. And I don't have to sift through unorganized racks to get a good deal and give a piece of clothing a second life.

Ice Ice Baby

This past October, Alex and I took quite an adventurous vacation to Iceland!

The weather was insane. We saw hail, rain, snow, and bright sun all in one day.


Over the course of our travels, we saw the Northern Lights twice. The first time they were just little flashes of green from the sky. The second time it was a full on light show with green swirls playing around the stars. It was absolutely spectacular.

To start off our trip, we went straight from the airport to the Blue Lagoon. We went to the spa area and lounged in the water, ate lunch at the spa bar, and covered ourselves in masks and clay. It was super luxurious and much needed as the rest of our trip was jam packed with activities.

Our first full day included a super jeep ride to a glacier where we took snow mobiles out for a treacherous ride. There were whiteout conditions and we fell off our vehicle a few times. It was quite the journey!! We ended our adventures in the Secret Lagoon, a natural hot spring, with a few beers.

We took a phenomenal 3-day tour with a private guide of the Snaefellsnes peninsula and the Golden Circle. The entire Golden Circle is highly worth it  - the Geyser, Crater Lake, the lava everywhere. It was breathtaking at every turn.

Additional highlights included:

• Drinking from a naturally carbonated spring
• Drinking from a glacial pool - likely the cleanest water we'll ever drink!
• So many waterfalls!!! (Bjarnafoss, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, Glanni, Oxararfoss, Gullfoss, and a really amazing one from Game of Thrones that we went off-trail to hike to) 
• Black sand beaches
• Watching sheep get herded on a farm
• Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum (Alex and I both ate the fermented shark but I thought it was completely disgusting)
• Lunch at Krauma

Our accommodations were incredible: Hotel Glymur and Hotel Budir. I cannot recommend Season Tours and our awesome guide, Gunnsi enough. He was the best. 

Upon returning to Rejkyavik, we dined at Dill.

We also took a group tour to the southern part of Iceland. We went for a crazy glacier hike that was much more active and exciting than expected. It was such a rush. I even climbed into a little crevice with my crampons digging into the ice and my ice ax at the ready. We hiked on the glacier until the sun set and turned in for a late dinner.

Our last day of adventure included a boat ride in a glacier lake surrounded by icebergs, a walk along diamond beach, and some seal spotting. We also took a walk around the basalt columns on another black sand beach.

We reserved a bit of time to walk around Reykjavik and explore the beautiful city before flying back to NYC.

Overall, it was like being on another planet. The nature was incredible and we were game for everything that came our way. We surprisingly craved being outside in the biting wind and cold (and sometimes sleet!) and soaked up every minute of our time in this incredible country.