Long story short: I will be taking a lot more trips to San Diego from now on. It is SO easy to get there from where I live. Once I picked up Danika in OC, my travel companion / photographer all around right-hand-woman, we got there in like… less than an hour. Easy peasy. And it’s one of those extremely cool cities that fascinates me because parts of it can be so urban, yet it’s literally ON the beach. My two favorite environments mixed into one.

D & I were lucky enough to stay at the Hotel Palomar in Downtown SD. To say we were blown away with our second-to-the-top-floor corner room would be a vastttt understatement. Our views were so beautiful, we screamed upon walking into the room. Screamed. Yeah, we are dorky and excitable & we don’t even tryyyy to hide it. I think my excitement also had something to do with the facts that:

A) I have only been to San Diego twice-ish and have never gotten to take in the beauty of Downtown SD from above like that… and you know how I love city life.

B) It’s been a rather stressful few weeks of apartment searching & personal life happenings, and I really, really needed a getaway with a good, down to earth soul. It was so refreshing and relaxing.

There was chilled champagne waiting for us, and if you follow me on Snapchat (@jojoyounger), then you know I popped right into that baby on the balcony after a minor few minutes of struggle…

Our shower had a bathtub inside of it — and not in the way a bathtub and shower can often be combined, but actually a huge walk-in shower with a huge bathtub IN it. Here are some photos in case my explanation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense…

After we settled in & toasted our champagne overlooking Downtown San Diego, we headed to True Food Kitchen to meet none other than the fab Annie Lawless for din din. Only I would choose to go to a restaurant in SD that I can also drive 5 miles to in Santa Monica… but I love the place and hadn’t been there in a while, so it seemed like a great choice for three healthy gals like us.

Hiii, Annie. You = my life.

We had a blast & shut the restaurant down… as we always do… too much fun to be had. Then it was back to our hotel for a night in our bigggg comfy bed (I am such a sucker for hotel beds + comfy bedding), and then a relaxing morning of workouts & downtime before our Jurlique facials.

I will spare you the story of waking up at dawn to meet Annie for a workout class that I ended up not making it to (car issues…), but I ended up working out in the hotel fitness center & LOVING having such an early start to my day. I got to explore the downtown area after that, check out one of the city’s hottest cold brew places (god, what an oxymoron), and then popped back over to the hotel to snap photos with D before our spa appointments!

Having some fun in the hotel room pre-facials

Wearing: Nasty Gal Pin Stripe Shirt Dress. (In love.)

We snapped the morning away in the gorgeous sunny room and then headed down for our facials. I have gotten a lot of facials/massages in a lot of hotel spas (because this is my number one favorite pastime in life… I truly get giddy over it), so I was eager to see how this one would compare.

After having experienced it, I can say, in my unbiased opinion, Jurlique blew me out of the water. Let’s start with the fact that my skin has been a bit of a mess for the last several months… Don’t ask me why, maybe it’s stress, maybe it’s working out & sweating too much in yoga/running without washing my face quickly enough, maybe it’s hormones (I personally think it’s all of the above), but my skin has not been so great lately.

It’s been a week since the facial, and I have noticed drastic positive differences with my skin. Yesterday I woke up to a clear, un-irritated face for the first time in a very, very long time. (Too long.) I couldn’t help but stare at myself in the Orange Theory mirrors during my workout class yesterday because I am so used to seeing a face full of irritated, red skin staring back at me. And all I saw was clear, clear, clear!!! Until I really got heated of course…

The spa itself was gorgeous and so peaceful. The seating area was open, tranquil and inviting… Three of my major stipulations for true relaxation. We got super comfy robes to put on and relaxed until our appointment times.

In the facial room itself, there was an awesome STEAM shower that was the perfect beginning to an unwinding massage. She used a ton of awesome Jurlique products on me throughout the facial and walked me through the process step-by-step. My personal favs were the balancing foaming cleanser (balance, baby!), the calendula redness rescue restorative treatment serum, and the rose moisture plus daily moisture balancing serum.

The extractions were painful, but that’s because I really, really needed them. The whole experience was so relaxing I didn’t wanna leave, and neither did Danika. Then we popped into Be Social PR to say hi to the team and we had GLOWING red faces and probably looked/seemed high, from the experience, but that’s okay.

#robeliiiiiife

This is why I think spa days are necessary, every so often, for the modern, busy woman:

1. We have to TREAT ourselves, and sometimes in order to relax you need to put yourself into a totally different environment than we are used to, away from the noise of our everyday lives. One of the best ways to do that is to let go and allow someone else to take over… Namely, someone who helps people relax for a living!
2. You are worth it. You are worth spending an extra buck on yourself if you’re going to come out feeling refreshed and relaxed. You are worth spending some time ALONE, in a tranquil & calm environment, one away from technology/cell phones/life. You are worth treating yourself… Doing something special and out of the ordinary, something that makes you feel like you are celebrating you. You are worth celebrating.
3. If you have skin problems, facials can be extremely beneficial. You get a one-on-one session with someone who is trained to take care of skin and make it look beautiful, so you might as well pick their brain and ask them what you can do to take care of your skin on a daily basis. Everyone’s skin is so different– once they get to know yours throughout the facial, they can give you tailored advice and help you choose products that are right for YOU.
4. If you have back problems or soreness, massages are soooo beneficial (I know I’m deviating from the whole facial thing, but I am talking about spa days in general now too). I know so many people who avoid getting massages/facials because of the cost, and then try them for the first time in a while and remember how AMAZING they are. In my opinion, it’s worth skipping a couple expensive meals out to get a massage once a month. Self care should be prioritized.
5. If you are easily stressed, a day at the spa… followed by a restorative yoga class (or vice versa) works WONDERS on the psyche. I am a notoriously stressed, tightly wound, anxious individual. Sometimes exercise cuts it, sometimes taking time off work and spending time with friends cuts it, and other times I need to switch it up and do something different and entirely relaxing — where I get pampered. It may sound excessive, but taking care of yourself should never be viewed as excessive. It’s called prioritizing.

So, there you have it, our mini-vaycay in San Diego at the Jurlique Spa & Hotel Palomar. Sometimes exactly what you need is to get out of your comfort zone, go on a little roadtrip with someone who makes you happy, and do something totally relaxing and enjoyable. BOOM.

Thoughts on pampering ourselves / taking time out of our busy lives for self-care? I think it’s so important and highly underrated. Also, who has tried Jurlique products?! They are GREAT for sensitive skin — trust me, I would know. My skin blows up in flames at the sight of potentially inflammatory products. Do tell!

All photos by Danika Miller, Iselin & Hale Photography. @iselinandhale

A few of the words/phrases I can’t stand, just to name a few: cheat day, cheat meal, thinspo, fitspo, IIFYM, & #gains, among others. One day I’ll do a post on the others, but today’s post is debunking the idea of a “cheat meal.” And just as bad… a “cheat day.”

Waiiittttt what’s wrong with cheat days? They sound so fun!

Look, I’m all about having variation in our diets. There is no one sized fits all diet regime, and there is no such thing as eating sOOoOooo clean+pure that we are untouchable. Indulging in something decadent and delicious in moderation is beautiful, and it should be part of our lives just like our kale, broccoli, fruits & green juices should be.

I don’t have a problem with treats. If I did, I’d be in big trouble. I like desserts, cookies & raw chocolate (okay, anything chocolate…) way too much to abstain from them 100% entirely for all of time. I did that for several years actually, and all it lead me to was having an eating disorder. What I do have a bit of a problem with is referring to those indulgences as “cheats.”

When we refer to something as a cheat, technically we are dubbing it “not okay” under regular circumstances. When we call it a cheat, we are reinforcing the fact that in a perfect world we would never touch anything that wasn’t 100% pure, healthy or clean. Basically, we are reinforcing the fact that in order to be worthy then we have to be perfect… when striving for perfection is what trips us up and keeps us from living fully in the moment and being completely happy, satisfied & content with who we ARE, in this moment, right now.

So if it’s not a “cheat,” what is it, then?

It’s a treat!

The word “treat” reinforces a carefree attitude and reminds us that there is nothing wrong with listening to our bodies & indulging in our cravings when the timing feels right. It gives us the power to choose if and when we are going to indulge, and we do so for pleasure and not to feel guilty directly afterward.

There is no “correct” amount of time throughout the week that we should be treating ourselves. These specific diet plans out there that tout eating clean 95% of the time and “cheating” 5% of the time may sound like they are giving us helpful guidelines, but really they are encouraging us to follow someone else’s words rather than listen to our own body. What’s most important for all of us, in this healthy & balanced life that we all deserve, is to eat intuitively. Healthy, well, and also balanced.

There is a popular fitness and nutrition plan out there that encourages a 45-minute “cheat period” each week. When I found that out I laughed out loud. 45 minutes?! I understand that the point is to keep people reigned in from going overboard for an entire “cheat day,” but if you tell someone to eat a certain way all week and then give them 45 minutes to splurge, there is a good chance they might use the full 45 minutes to stuff their face! And even if they don’t, putting the idea in their head that those 45 minutes are “bad” and derailing all of their hard work to eat healthy and workout for the rest of the week is just silly.

Life is an ebb and flow. We shouldn’t have to live our lives by when we can eat certain foods and when we can’t, and we certainly can’t believe that such a diet is sustainable for a full lifetime. And I’m not in the business of sharing anything with you that isn’t a LIFESTYLE plan– ya feel me?

When we treat ourselves, rather than give ourselves cheats, then we can go with the flow! If all of your friends are going out for fro yo, that sounds like a fab time to have a treat. If your family brings home donuts on a Sunday morning, that sounds like another great time to have a treat. If you are craving healthy foods and you feel like having a warm cinnamon tea for dessert instead of a brownie, that sounds like a FAB time to do just that. You shouldn’t feel like you have to “cheat” just because it’s your 45-minute allotted time slot to do so.

Another reason I’m against “cheat meals,” is because that for someone like me, who has been suffering with tummy problems their whole life, “cheating on” the way I know my body needs to eat in order to thrive is just a terrible idea. I can indulge and have something that my body doesn’t process well, but I will be off balance for days and it won’t be worth it. For me, it’s worth finding what DOES work for me and making all of that within limits, all the time. If my “treats” are never off-limits, then there is no crazy mystifying cloud around them. They are just there, and I can have them when I feel like it and I can not have them when I don’t feel like it!

And because of the particular way that I eat, it just so happens that my treats tend to fall under the uber healthy umbrella. I like (love) frozen dates with raw almond butter, fruit drizzled in raw almond butter, coconut shreds and honey, raw chocolate (I eat it by the fistful!), raw chocolate peanut butter cups, gluten-free peanut butter cookies from the farmer’s market, homemade chocolate chia pudding, and more!

That’s what works for me when I want a treat. I also like to put stevia in all of my tea and many of my smoothies for a sweet midday treat. I have a sweet tooth, and whenever I’ve tried to do the whole “cheat meal” thing it just makes me feel guilty for listening to my body.

We have to show our bodies respect & love by trusting them & listening to them, not by force feeding ourselves something that doesn’t sound good because it’s not “cheat day.”

Who’s with me? It’s time to fall in love with our bodies & the way we treat ourselves. We deserve it.    

And if my reasons weren’t enough, check out these 7 great reasons too!

ALSO, I have to add, my dear friend Sophie Jaffe from The Philosophie is the perfect example of someone who exhibits the, “It’s not a cheat, it’s a treat” mentality. She inspires me every day to live a nutrient-rich, energy-filled life surrounded by amazing people. That’s what it’s all about… not living life from “cheat meal” to “cheat meal”! Check out her site and her products to see an example of living that cheat-free, indulgent, healthy, radiant life.

Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts. What do you think about cheat meals? If you present a good argument about them to me, I would love to hear!