Portugal, The Man

Friday was an interesting day.

Thursday night I worked overnight, getting the store ready for the new iPhone XR.

I got off work a bit early, in the middle of the night still, and then had to be up early to get a neck injection.

I've been having neck pain for about 5 years now and, after years of different doctors and treatments, am finally getting some answers.

Slightly herniated cervical disc causing major pain in my neck, shoulders, and traps...yikes!

Anyway, these neck injections are no joke and NOT fun.

But I went home, took a nap, and rallied for Portugal, The Man with my girl, Greta!

I will be honest, I only knew 2 or 3 of their songs, but I got free tickets and they are from Alaska, so it was really cool to see them come back to their home state and play.
They were super trippy and pretty fun.

Alaska has been getting some bigger names up here lately, so it's been cool to see more fun concerts!

Next up on my concert dream list is Celine Dion!

Still trying to talk the boyfriend into it.

I might have to pull a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on him...

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: Unladylike Podcast 

Ever since the podcast and YouTube channels 'Stuff Your Mom Never Told You' ended, I had a little hole in my heart.
Cristen Conger was one of my favorite people to listen to and I'm so glad she is back with Caroline Ervin.
I love their humorous, feminist messages.
They're very insightful, intelligent, and fun.

What I'm Reading: Refinery29's Money Diaries
I LOVE reading these.
They also make me want to travel all over to places I've never been or even go back to places I have been.
I like reading about other people's lives and seeing what they spend money on.
Sometimes it makes me feel better about my spending habits.
Other times, it makes me wish I was a stronger budgeter.
Either way, they're fun to read!

What I'm Watching: Grace and Frankie Season 3

This show makes me laugh so hard.
Even if you're not elderly, you can find humor in this show.

What I'm Eating: Dark Chocolate Kodiak Cakes

O.M.G.
I have been eating Kodiak Cakes for a while, but when I found out there were dark chocolate ones, I knew I had to find them.
I made a beeline for Target and have been enjoying them a couple times a week since.
PB2 is amazing on these - try it!

What I'm Wearing: Nike Dry Training Tank

Here

I love this tank so much I bought it in 2 colors - this coral color and gray.

It's really flattering too

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: The Greatest Showman Soundtrack

Oh my goodness, I loved this movie and the soundtrack is amazing, as well!
I love Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron {duh!}, but I also think Michelle Williams did an amazing job.
I didn't realize she could sing and she looked so gorgeous!
Go watch it!

What I'm Reading: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I'm so excited for the movie!
Reese and Mindy are two of my favorite ladies!!

One of my goals for 2018 was to read more often.
I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the trailer.
I plan on starting the book this week!

What I'm Watching: Lost

I never watched Lost when it was first on.
Last summer I had shoulder surgery and was out of work 6 weeks.
I watched a ton of tv and caught up on all the shows I had started.
I had wanted to watch Lost for a while so I decided to go for it.
I just finished it this past weekend and, even though most people hated the ending, I kind of liked it.

What I'm Eating: Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

We don't have Trader Joe's in Alaska and I'll be darned if I don't buy cookie butter every chance I get!
I stocked up on a smooth cookie butter and cookie & cocoa swirl!
I like eating it with apples {ok, and Trader Joe's triple ginger snaps...}
I did just sign up for Weight Watchers last Wednesday and I'm down 5 pounds already!
So, the cookie butter is a little special treat.

What I'm Wearing: Ugg Fleece Lined Socks

Here

I wanted these for Christmas in 2016, but by the time I got my Christmas gift card, they were sold out!
This past holiday season, as soon as I saw them I bought them.
They are sooo warm and cozy and I love socks/slippers!
If you're looking for cute and warm socks, these are for you!

New Year, Same Me, New Goals

It's that time of year!
Everyone coming up with resolutions and goals.
Yes, I'd like to lose some weight and drink more water and maybe finally have the confidence to wear that wide brimmed hat with a feather in it that I bought 2 years ago...
But instead, I've made some super realistic goals that, hopefully, inspire you to come up with your own!

Goal #1: Switch Makeup/Skincare to Natural Products-
This is something that I know will take a long time, especially since I still work part time at Sephora and have no say over the free products I receive.
I haven't been wearing much makeup lately anyway, but when I read the ingredients list on a lot of the non-natural, non-organic makeup/skincare, it has a lot of stuff I definitely do not want to put on my skin.
As I run out of products, I plan on replacing them with more natural ones.
I'm most excited to try BeautyCounter and Juice Beauty.
Bonus: a lot of natural brands used recycled packaging -- perhaps a lot of beauty brands do, but this was a theme I noticed while researching natural makeup.
What are your favorite natural makeup/skincare brands?!

Goal #2: Read More-
Since I'm taking online grad classes, most of my reading goes towards that.
My classes are 8 weeks though so when I have a break, like right now, I have a couple months to do something else.
Currently, I'm using that time to finish watching Lost for the first time, but I have several books on my Kindle waiting for me to read them.
I want to read 'A Wrinkle In Time' before the movie comes out!
What books do you recommend?

Goal #3: Simplify, Declutter, and Reuse-
I'm trying to simplify and declutter what I already have, while being more mindful of what I buy, and where I buy it, in the future.
I've been using the app Poshmark to get rid of clothing, jewelry, shoes, and purses that I no longer wear.
Anything that doesn't get sold, I will eventually donate to a local shelter.
When I need to purchase something new, buying second hand clothing helps bring down demand for manufacturing and prevents clothing from rotting away in landfills.
It also puts money into local business instead of huge corporations.
I'm not saying I will never participate in another Nordstrom sale {as if!} but it never hurts to browse around a local consignment shop first.
Some other ideas to spend less and declutter are:
-Refinishing used furniture
-Have a clothing swap party with friends
-Get rid of clothing items you haven't worn in the last year

These are just a few small things I'd like to implement in 2018 and for the rest of my life.
Here's to a great year!
What are your 2018 resolutions?

California Dreamin'

I started out 2018 going on my first vacation to California with my boyfriend.
We had so much fun!
It was his first time visiting Los Angeles and the Oxnard area.
My cousin lives there and it was so great to see her, even if it rained the whole time we were at the beach.
It was about 50º warmer in LA than it was in Anchorage, so I was happy, regardless of the rain.
We started the trip off by relaxing the evening we flew in since we were on the red eye.
We spent the rest of the week eating and exploring!
Since we were staying a little bit outside of LA, most of the restaurants we went to were found on Yelp.
I wasn't super interested in going to the trendy, expensive places for the most part, but I wanted to go somewhere nicer and equally delicious for a special dinner.
A Food Affair was amazing!
It is an adorable modern French restaurant and the food was great.

A late birthday dinner at A Food Affair

The BEST ribeye I have ever had!

The next evening we went to The Comedy Store and saw an amazing lineup!

Tom Segura, Pete Holmes, Bryan Callen, Harland Williams {Rocketman anyone?!} and surprise guest Pauly Shore!

It was such a fun night.

The next day was Disneyland!

It was Hunter's first time there and we will definitely be back!

Splash Mountain was closed for renovation and Indiana Jones kept shutting down for mechanical problems; two rides that are MUSTS!

I also didn't get a churro, nor did we see the fireworks, so I told him our next trip will be 3 days at Disney complete with Mickey&Minnie ears...not sure he's gonna go for that! haha

I was really cool to see the park decorated for Christmas though!

I love this picture! I managed to get the statue and castle in the background of our selfie.

The next day we went to the Petersen Automotive Museum {something Hunter really wanted to do} and then to a hockey game at the Staples Center!

I'm a King's fan and even though they lost to the Predators, it was such a good game!

I searched the entire Staples Center to find a hat for the game.
Apparently everyone else had the same plan, but I found one!

The next few days were spent in Oxnard with my cousin.

I can't believe we didn't get any pictures together!

I did get a picture of my first lobster roll though...delicious!

Yes, we spent the majority of our trip eating and relaxing...OH! And shopping at Trader Joes since Alaska doesn't have one!! :'(

I'm already excited about our next trip there so we can go to the places we didn't get to go to this time.

Where would you recommend we go on our next trip?!

What's your favorite trip you've been on?

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: S-Town Podcast
Technically, it's called Shit Town, but they market it as S-Town and it's a super interesting story about a tiny town in Alabama.
Murder mystery, meets NYC reporter, meets the town looney.
I highly recommend it!

What I'm Reading: I'm still working on American Lion
I haven't been doing much reading and honestly, I prefer fiction much more than non-fiction.
I just want to look smart when reading a giant history book, ya know?
I won't be reading much of anything for a while except for text books.
That's right, I'm going back to school for my masters!
I'm so nervous and excited.
I'm just hoping I finish under 4 years and am not in debt forever! *fingers crossed*

What I'm Watching: The Walking Dead

I watched this show for the first 2 1/2 seasons.
Around that time I moved into an apartment with no cable and then I moved back to Alaska and never caught back up.
I started watching it again a couple weeks ago and I'm already on season 4.
I look forward to much more Netflix binging.

What I'm Eating: Ben&Jerry's CHOCOLATE Cherry Garcia

Are you kidding me?!

Cherry Garcia was my favorite in high school and now they make a chocolate kind!

Is it weird to be devastated that it's a limited batch?

Because I am.

I've had it twice now, and I think I may have to go back for thirds before it's gone!

What I'm Wearing: Kenneth Jay Lane Bead & Tassel Earrings

Shopbop

I was watching the Big Little Lies finale and fell IN LOVE with these earrings.

Reese Witherspoon is just perfection in every way, and as soon as I saw these on her, I knew I had to have them.

I couldn't find them at first, I even tweeted asking people to help me find them! haha

When I did finally find them, they were sold out!

I kept checking back and luckily they came back in stock and on sale!

Happy Monday, friends!

xo Lindsey

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: TingleBelleASMR
When I need to relax before bed, I always watch her YouTube videos.
For anyone who doesn't know, ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response.
It basically means you get tingles or sensations along your neck or spine when you hear certain sounds.
Lots of hair brushing and tapping.
It's nice for some people and some people find it super creepy.
What do you think?

What I'm Reading: American Lion by Jon Meacham

I asked my family for good historical book recommendations.
I have really fallen off the reading train this past year and I'm really bummed about it because I used to read a lot.
I wanted to read non fiction since I tend to stick with fiction and novels.
I just started it, but I think I'm going to like it.

What I'm Watching: Girls!

This is the final season!

Lena Dunham's character drives me crazy, but the rest are really funny.

What I'm Eating Drinking: Plexus Slim!

I've replaced my morning coffee with this.
I don't love that it's marketed mostly as a way to lose weight because there are so many other benefits for it.
But burning fat, not muscle, is a huge factor for the name and also why it sells so well!
It gives me natural energy, helps with my stomach issues, keeps my skin clearer than it's been in a while, and it tastes so good!
If you're interested in trying a sample, feel free to email me linds.a.peterson @ gmail.com {I put the space there so robots can't get ahold of my email ;) but don't put a space before or after the @ if you email me} and I'll send you a sample!

What I'm Wearing: Smartwool Socks

Here

I pretty much Smartwool socks everyday.
If I'm working, I wear the no show's with my sneakers.
In the winter I wear the thicker pairs under my boots.
I also wear the micro cut pairs when I work out.
Smartwool isn't sponsoring this post, I'm just obsessed with them!

What have you been loving lately!?
Let me know in the comments and happy Monday!

xo Lindsey