*8:06 - hair’s wet just out the shower, ginger green tea steaming from a Starbucks BERLIN “YOU ARE HERE” mug in hand, sitting criss-cross in bed and laptop open*
Train ticket: booked. Plane ticket: booked. Bus ticket: booked. Bags: packed. Bills: paid.
Yessssss, getting things DONE. Anyone else love crossing things off their lists? It’s seriously like a never ending cycle of feeling anxious & satisfied. And it’s addicting. Usually in my head I feel overwhelmed like I have no head-space left because there’s a million things to do and I'm always adding more to my plate. BUT I LOVE IT. You could say I'm a serial planner or over-scheduler. I hardly even watch TV because in my mind, if I have a free second to be vegging, I'm wasting my time when I could be networking or creating. But one thing I've learned to do is something that's extremely challenging for me (and all of us psycho hustlers.)
It's called saying "NO."
Ahhhhh!! WHAT. But I feel like I'm falling behind if I'm not doing everything I can with my time. *deep breath* I feel you. And it's okay. Saying NO to someone trying to get you to cover their shift, saying NO to a working with a brand or saying NO to leading a meeting (that could easily be handled in an email anyways) is O.K. I've had to remind myself that saying NO isn't a bad thing. It's a small word, a powerful word and it's now in my vocabulary. Saying NO and making time for your mental, emotional and physical well-being is called LIFE BALANCE.
You don’t find balance, you create it yourself. Between traveling, modeling, working my part-time job and working on my brand, there’s like hardly time to sleep. This is why it’s soooo important for me to CREATE time in my schedule for playtime. What fun is life if you have no time to spend with the ones you love? You could love your job, love traveling, love being by yourself.. But there’s nothing like clocking out and hanging with your family, grabbing drinks with a friend or spending quality time with your significant other.
This past month has been jam-packed with travel and work for me.
Miami -> Boston -> Portland -> New Haven -> New York City -> Portland -> Nashville -> New York City -> Portsmouth -> Portland -> Boston -> New York City with maybe sleeping in my own bed 3 nights in-between here and there. Don’t get me wrong, I am LOVING the on-the-go schedule, working in different cities and checking out the cutest new coffee shops, hehe. BUT, it gets lonely quick and I miss my fam, my boyfriend and my doggos.
HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED. - Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild
^true.
This is why, when I had some work and events in Portsmouth, NH this past weekend, I CREATED time for my boyfriend and I to spend being foodies, pirates and silly together. It was a fun little ‘staycation’ since home is about 30 minutes away! Here's a recap of our weekend:
First, a huge thank you to The Hotel Portsmouth for accommodating me and Tyler. We joke and rate hotel beds based on 3 things: LOOK, COMFORT & SLEEP. The Hotel Portsmouth had a Scandinavian look/IKEA-feel with their wood bed frames and simple modern pillows - which I LOVE. Tyler tested the bed by doing the dive-test (you know.. where you stand at the end of the bed and put your arms out in a T position and dive face-first into the bed. We’ve all done it, come on..) and he sunk into the comforter and pillows and stayed there for awhile.. (good sign - also the reason for no bed pic.. couldn't get it to look perfect again, ugh) And not to mention the sleep we had was like sleeping on clouds. We both prefer one pillow under our heads so the extra pillows that were leftover, we placed next to us so when I woke up I literally felt like I woke up in the clouds of Neverland. So comfy, so soft, so plush. Heaven. We agreed overall The Hotel Portsmouth got a 9.7 in the bed department. Also note, the tub - I should've brought my bath bombs!
The morning after the slumber in the clouds, we went downstairs for their complimentary breakfast. Wow, this was no standard continental brekky, this was delicious and healthy, too! Meats and cheeses with berries and nuts, overnight oats with blueberries, infused water, breakfast salads, fruit bowls, yogurt parfaits.. delicious, filling and better than eggs & bacon. To book your cute Scandic stay in little 'ole Portsmouth click here. Oh, and did I mention it was haunted?
After my meetings, we headed to our FAVORITE place to eat in Portsmouth: Moxy. Every time I go there the staff is always super cool, the food is absolutely incredible and we have the best of times. This time was no different! Moxy's a modern American tapas restaurant where everything can be shared (even though I never want to because I want it all for myself) and it comes out as it's ready. Holy moly look what we had. Shoutout to Michael Famico and all of Moxy's staff for making our night out mouth-watering and perfect! These are our go-to's but check out their full menu here.
Post scrumdiddlyumptious dinner, Tyler and I headed down to the boat launch where we had reservations with the Portsmouth Harbor Cruises for a boat ride around the Piscataqua River at sunset. DREAMY. (Also, I did NOT edit the sunset in this picture. Magic, eh?) What was neat was there was a bar on board. WITH SNACKS. As we ventured off the coast, the captain played great music and told us stories about the East Coast Alcatraz and the many sights around the harbor! Best hour and a half of my life. (I always did want to be a pirate!) Book your dreamy sunset cruise here! Literally I wish I could go every day after work.
Between the good food, the great people and the amazing stay, this little 24 hour staycation was exactly what we needed. We danced in the streets, talked about life, got gelato on a whim and laughed our full bellies off. That's what life's all about, right? Portsmouth, you're always a blast. Thanks for letting me work and play with you.
It's so important to say NO to some things so you can say YES to well-being things. Create time to spend quality time with the ones you love.. the ones who love you and support you. They're part of your success, too. It's all about b a l a n c e.
PS - shoutout to Tyler for being the best photog around. Thanks, babe!
Are you a serial planner, too? How do you attempt to keep balance in your life?