Friday's Simply Smitten - Blush & Blooms

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“Romanticize your life”

-anon

Happy Friday! It’s the start to my birthday festivities as my parents are heading into town for the weekend! My birthday is not until Wednesday, but I have never been one to shy away from numerous celebrations.

The only exciting and fun thing I did this past week was go to my hairdresser to touch up my roots. Now I am back to being blonde and ready for my birthday…. we all know blondes have more fun! If you are a blonde in NYC Kara Stella, who works at Treehouse Social Club in the East Village, does an amazing job! I followed her from Bumble to her new location. Also Treehouse is one of the cutest hair salons I’ve been to; pink and green decor, murals of Marilyn Monroe, and a tiki bar in their huge back patio. The tiki bar is only open during special events unfortunately.

The rest of my week was pretty much all work and gearing up for my parents arrivals. We have reservations at American Bar, which will be delicious. I have not yet graced this gem in Greenwich, so I am excited to see the interior and taste the food. Saturday my cousins are coming into town from Jersey to have lunch with us. We haven’t fully planned the day, but will discuss over lunch. Since my cousins haven’t been to NYC that often, I want to give them the chance to perhaps see a part of the city they haven’t been to yet. Thank goodness they have already been to Times Square so I do not have to go there for my birthday.

I have had the hardest time falling asleep this past week. For my entire life I have had a hard time. When I was little my parents used to get me sleeping tapes to help, but it never worked. This past week was not the best. I have tried everything. I’ve taken melatonin and ashwagandha gummies. I have a nighttime routine of winding down. I try to stay off of my phone when preparing to go to bed. I started listening to brown noise (white noise gives me a headache). I’ve listened to mediations. Yet it takes me hours to fall asleep. And to be honest, i am not even a night owl. Even in college I hardly ever went to after hours to someones apartment or house after the bars closed. I never stay up late watching tv or movies. I am too tired to. I start my evening bedtime routine around 10pm and most likely try to fall asleep around 10:30-11pm. But I do not actually get to sleep until around 1am. This week it’s been around 2am or so. ANY helpful suggestions I will gladly take! The sad thing about it is that I LOVE to sleep! I also can easily fall asleep on a plane or moving vehicle. If I had genie in a bottle one of my wishes would be to fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow…. so jealous of those that can do this.

What I am watching: I started watching PLL Original Sin and have to say it’s one of the best spin offs of the show. I was a fan of Pretty Little Liars and was curious about the 3rd spinoff. Original Sin is much darker, as we know who A is physically but not who is under the mask (I haven’t watched the finale yet). A looks like the stature of a man with a Michael Myers type mask on. Gone are the days of high school bullies, this is cold-blooded murder. I also like that it’s not just the core girls getting stalked, but their mother’s as well. My ONLY complaint is that the mothers graduated high school in 2000…… excuse me while I go cry. When did my generation become the mother’s of teenagers in Hollywood? I know it’s feasible for these women to have 16yr olds– it would mean they all gave birth around 24yrs old. They are adults. I was just thrown a little and it made me feel old…. I do not accept this.

This past week I watched two really great documentaries, both on Netflix. The first being Woodstock 99. I was about 14 years old when Woodstock 99 happened. I remember it well as I watched MTV cover the festival and when it was all over the news. I knew of the destruction and vulgarity that happened. I knew the cause of the uproar, but there is still so much I didn’t know. The 3-part documentary is both nostalgic and appalling. Highly, highly suggest for anyone but especially Gen X and elder Millennials.

The second documentary I watched was Not Just A Girl: Shania Twain. I’ve always liked Shania Twain. I am a fan of her music and as the meme goes- could kick down a door when she says “lets go girls”. But I know nothing of her past nor her personal life. I didn’t realize how much heartbreak and hardship she has experienced. The documentary left me with so much admiration for her. Even if you are not a big country music fan, I suggest watching because she really did so much for genre and for women in general.

What I bought: One of the biggest trends this fall season is the classic white tank top. Surprisingly I only have one white tank top- a silk tank with floral embroidery on top. It’s technically pajamas, but I like to wear it with jeans and a tweed jacket. So this season I decided it was time to get a new tank top. I went with this sweater tank in cream and this mockneck tank in white. Both are on sale and under $50.

I bought a new book last weekend called Meant To Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein. I am enjoying it so far! It’s about a 29 year old women who meets the love of her life on the exact day her grandmother predicted. Her grandmother has predicted everyone in the family’s exact date of when they meet their soulmate. It makes me ponder whether or not I would want to know the exact date. I go back and forth between my answer. I think I lean towards wanting to know.

As mentioned my parents will be in town this weekend to celebrate my birthday. I am excited to spend time with them and my cousins– plus my cousin’s fiancé! Mostly I am excited for my gluten free cake from Milk Bar! It will be a great weekend overall.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

1. So excited for this show to premiere this fall

2. Eyeing this blue floral dress

3. Cute statement earrings

4. Adding this blue tweed jacket to my collection

5. What the Real Housewives really spend on fashion

6. Obsessing over Michelle Yeoh’s photos in Town and Country Mag

7. Bama Rush documentary is officially happening

8. 10 fall home trends

9. How to create the glaze donut nail polish look

10. Fun things to bake this weekend

Sales happening this weekend