Friday's Simply Smitten - Blush & Blooms

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“Forget the years; forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home”

-Zhuangzi

Happy Friday!! I hope you had a wonderful first week of the new year! I always find the first few weeks of January a little melancholic. After a month of merriment, it feels depressing how everything is so bleak. Like crashing down from a high. I miss the glitz and glamour, the joy and the cheer. All the festivities. It takes a moment to adjust. But it does feel good to get back to a routine, relax, and to be refreshed.

Doesn’t it feel like the New Year was weeks ago? It seems weird that it was only last weekend we were toasting champagne to 2024. My New Year’s Eve was a festive and relaxing one with friends. We started the evening early at Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon in Gramercy. We each had the afternoon tea special which consists of first course: soup and salad. The second course: tea sandwiches. Third course: scones. Fourth course: dessert. Since I am gluten free they were kind enough to give me a larger portion of the soup and salad instead of the scones and sandwiches. We each had early grey tea to start out, then opted for a more festive cocktail. I had the rose petal fizz– very good! The tea house is super cute, very eclectic in decor. A little grandmillenial. We had a wonderful time chatting and sipping tea. I wore my fancy feather pajamas haha!

After the tea salon we took an Uber uptown to my friend Sarah’s apartment for champagne, charcuterie, and a night with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper. I could watch the two of them, and Anderson Cooper giggle, for days. It was the perfect way to ring in the New Year; setting the tone for a happy year filled with friendship, conversation, laughter, and joy.

The rest of my week was back to reality. I spent time going through my email that I have been ignoring for two weeks. I also worked on new content and a collaboration I have coming up. I wrote out my 2024 resolutions and intentions to start the new year off on the right foot. And I went to my first DanceBody class of the year.

At DanceBody we are learning new dances for Q1. For the first week they break down a few of the dances, so we are not completely lost. Then the next week or so they will introduce one or two new dances into the mix. Usually they save the ballet one and the (what I call) pop-diva one for later. The hardest two in the bunch, in my opinion. I would say I did pretty well for the first day. I picked up the dances and was able to follow along somewhat swimmingly. So far my favorite ones are “Lovin’ On Me” by Jack Harlow (I hate how much I like that song), “Right or Wrong” by Pitbull, “Shot O’ Clock” by Saweetie, and “Rich Baby Daddy” by Drake. It’s a fun group of dances!

What I am watching: Now that we are heading into the award season I am starting to watch all of the movies that have been nominated. Last weekend I watched Saltburn…..and my good Lord I needed someone to throw holy water on me afterwards. It’s a great movie, but very disturbing. I thought the acting was phenomenal and the cinematography was amazing. The whole thing is very campy. Highly recommend, but warning there are a lot of vulgar parts.

Besides watching Oscar-worthy movies, I started season 3 of Upload. I don’t know why I am having a hard time getting into it this season. I loved the first two seasons, but for some reason I am losing interest. I think it’s because I prefer them to stay in Lakeview and do not really care for them to be out in the real world. However, it still holds is quirky charm.

Not a new show but worth mentioning… did you see the final episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City?! My jaw was on the floor the entire time! One of the best Housewives episodes ever. The Salt Lake City franchise always delivers. I do not want to spoil anything, but Monica is truly something else. It’s borderline stalker behavior. Also finding out other secrets from the past… so good! I cannot wait until the reunion.

What I bought: My niece’s birthday is approaching, so I bought her these cute ballerina stud earrings. I also bought a new computer… my Christmas gift to myself. My old computer was on its last leg. I held out as long as I could, but had to upgrade when I wasn’t able to download the newest version of Lightroom because it wasn’t compatible. Lastly, I bought new conditioner because I was out.

On The Blog

My Intentions and Resolutions for 2024

What Books I Read This Past Fall Part 1

LTK Spotlight: Winter outfits under $100

Top Seller: These $26 leggings

This weekend I am hoping to go to the Met Museum to see the Degas exhibition. It depends on the weather– how much or if it snows. Other than my potential waltz through the museum, I will be finishing my book, working out, relaxing, and watching the Golden Globes.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

1. Adore this interview with Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie

2. Eyeing this Totéme scarf jacket dupe

3. A pretty fair isle sweater

4. Classic Chelsea boots on sale

5. The best Golden Globe dresses of all time

6. All the movies to see for award season

7. The most anticipated books of 2024

8. How to set and stick to your 2024 reading goals

9. Biggest wellness trends of 2024

10. Loved looking through photos this colorful NYC apt.

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