Hiii besties! We are officially 13 things Tuesday now. 🤪 This is kind of an ode to the fact that I can never stick to a pre-determined list number. Jonathan jokes that soon we will be at 201 things Tuesday — in which case, I think I will just need to write a mini book every week lol.
But that goes to show you how much I love writing these posts. I have always loved blogging in list form. I think it’s because of the way my mind works (ADHD, creative, air sign, fast paced, all the things) it just helps me organize my thoughts in a way that really works for me and doesn’t let me get TOO off track. Plus we can switch subjects a million times in one place. And it’s fun!
So with that, let’s head into today’s 13 things…!
13 Things Tuesday!
1. Quick question for you guys. I noticed sometimes each of the things on this list ends up being a super long paragraph (lol welcome to my brain). Is it fun to read the in-depth thoughts, or would you rather something really quick and snappy?! I am sure it will continue to be a combo, but just curious. For example, I follow Amber Fillerup’s 12 Things Tues religiously (she is the one who inspired this series!) and hers are a lot shorter than mine. I always wonder what works best for people’s attention spans these days? Or if the OG blog crew is really here for the lengthy heart spill?! Just curious your thoughts! Nothing you say will offend me!
2. I haven’t had caffeine since early January, so it’s been like 3.5 months totally caffeine-free! I never thought I would break my coffee habit. It was honestly my ONE thing, my vice of all vices, the thing that I knew it would benefit me to cut out but that I was really unsure for so long if I would be willing or able to.
I had cut it out before, especially during my roughest Lyme days, but it had been back in my life again for a long while. I love me a morning cold brew and my Alfred/Erewhon almond/coconut lattes. BUT with all the anxiety that made its way into my life this year, I literally quit caffeine cold turkey one random day in January and have not looked back. I feel amazing without it — it took like a four days to get over the withdrawal symptoms/headaches and since then I feel my adrenals are really healing, too.
3. On that note, I have really only replaced coffee with dandy blend or teeccino or just plain old warm lemon water since giving it up, but yesterday I decided to order a reishi “cappuccino” (coffee-free) from Erewhon, and HOLY shit you guys. The combo of the reishi (adaptogenic mushroom), he shou wu (a Chinese herb), cacao, and gynostemma tea made me feel like I was literally on speed. I couldn’t believe how sensitive I’ve gotten… and I was sensitive to begin with! I typed this whole list after drinking it. And I only drank like 1/8 of the drink, lol! It was delicious but drink at your own risk. 😉
4. I will also say, and I know this isn’t TMI for our TBB fam, drinking it gave me the same digestive benefits of drinking coffee, which I have seriously missed. I run very constipated, like chronically constipated you could say, so my morning coffee really helped me out in that department. I am still searching for what will help the most on that front now, but oxygenated magnesium always seems to help.
5. Also on the note of digestive health, I am loving my ARMRA colostrum & Just Thrive probiotics + psychobiotics lately. This is not sponsored (this list never is!) but just want to share the love with you guys. For ARMRA you can use the code BALANCEDBLONDE for a discount, and for Just Thrive you can use BALANCED. I take all 3 of these every morning and it seems to help a lot too — even on an anxiety level I feel like my gut lining is healing and that brings me so much peace. (The Founder of Just Thrive was on the pod a few weeks ago… highly recommend for all the digestive health girlies.)
6. I am getting back into the podcast studio this week!! I took about 5ish weeks off of recording (except for a solo that comes out tomorrow yayayay!) because I got so ahead, and because I needed to give myself a little mental health break to chill for a bit and re-evaluate my schedule. But I am SO excited because tomorrow I’m having on the amazing Ramit Sethi who wrote I Will Teach You To Be Rich (and he has a Netflix show that I believe comes out today!!) and my friends Kayleigh & Danielle of Clearstem skincare. Both episodes will be amaze. Leave questions below for both eps!
7. WE ARE SHOOTING NEW TBB MERCH THIS WEEK! AHHH! My level of excitement is *beyond.* I cannot wait to show you this new drop. Mark your calendars for 4/28. Want any hints??? 😉 If so I will start dropping hints on IG and in next week’s blog!
8. I cannot believe the first TBB merch I launched, which was then called TBV Apparel and turned into a whole clothing line that was pretty much a full-time job for me and my two business partners at the time, went live a full 9 years ago as of last week. Who remembers the line?! We had iconic phrases like Is Vodka Vegan?, Yoga Junkie, Hashtag Vegan, Health is the New Black, & so much more. I miss it all the time and that’s partially why I feel so lit up creating merch again now for you guys. <3
9. Not to brag but when it comes to all that merch stuff, *cough cough* I think I was very ahead of my time, just sayin’. I literally remember being in a yoga class at Modo in the West Village when I lived in NYC and the ideas flowing into my mind for the merch line. I had been blogging for a year at that point, and I felt like it was the perfect way to connect with you guys offscreen with something you could wear IRL that reflected the whole vibe of the TBB community. So wild. You guys have supported from day one and I love you all so much.
10. It is actually really special how tight knit this community is. If you’re new here, welcome!!! For those of you who have been here for a long time, thank you. I was telling someone over the weekend that I know so many of you by name after all these years. I try to remember the face/name of every TBB reader I have ever met when possible — our connection means more to me than you will ever know.
11. I asked this on IG the other week, but how many of you went to a Country Day or Waldorf school?! If so, what was your experience? I went to a Country Day School (Sacramento Country Day) for 14 years and I swear it is the reason I turned out to be who I am today. We were really encouraged to focus on the arts and creativity, we had super small classes, it was very much an outdoor play environment, and we had the same campus from Pre-K through 12th grade. So in middle & high school, I got to work in the Pre-K. I did that for 6 straight years. I am still shocked I didn’t end up being a preschool teacher… and I think everyone who knew me at SCDS is probably shocked, too!
12. I am convinced that 15/16 months is the best age of babyhood so far. Atticus is walking, talking (babbling), learning new stuff every day, he is SO fun, brings us so much joy and his personality is shining through more than ever. But tbh this kid was also born with wild amounts of personality. He has a lot of new teeth coming through right now so he’s been in some pain though which has been sad. I ended up sleeping in his crib with him on Saturday night… and if we’re both honest I loved it. Those cuddles are the absolute best. 😭
13. I thought I’d tell you guys some of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly!! I love The Skinny Confidential, Wake Up With Weslie, Ed Mylett, Almost 30 (duh), To Be Magnetic, The Pursuit of Wellness (and Mari was on TBB a few weeks ago!) and have recently been tuning into Going Mental with Eileen Kelly all about mental health. These pods are all over the board and I have been getting so much out of all of them.
How are my fave people doing?! What’s everyone up to this week? Tell me all of your thoughts on the above — I can’t wait to chat with you. Tuesdays are my fave day of the week now for this reason. Closely followed by Wednesdays with our pod coming out every Weds!! Tomorrow’s solo episode is a special one… dying to hear your thoughts. Comment below if you’ve listened to last week’s ep with Lacy (LIFE CHANGER. TOP 3 of all time) and what you have to say about it! <3 <3