Chatting about my recent trip to Santa Ynez Valley (which I’ll be recapping on the blog soon) and some of my favorite things that I seem to be using daily in my own life!
- Tula Products
- HiQ CoQ10
- Andalou Face Mask
- Collagen Packs
- Fourth & Heart Ghee
- Forest Cold Brew Coffee
- Vanilla Bean Sweet Cream Collagen Iced Coffee
- Madewell Clothing
- Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
[powerpress]
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Episode 43 Transcription!
This is Juli Bauer from PaleOMG and you are listening to PaleOMG Uncensored.
Topics:
1. Santa Ynez Valley trip [2:04]
2. Upcoming travel plans [15:07]
3. Favorites for beauty [25:12]
4. Favorites for food [30:04]
5. Traveling solo [36:57]
6. Favorites for fashion [40:48]
7. The Bachelorette [45:22]
Juli Bauer: Well good morning. It is Sunday, July something. And I usually record on Thursday or Fridays, and then post the podcast on Saturday. But I was traveling all last week. And then I got back to town, and wanted to hang out with my sister-in-law. And one of my friends just went through major back surgery, and she’s so badass. So I just wanted to bring her food. So I just made them a bunch of food. So that just kind of took up the time that I was supposed to be doing my podcast. But sometimes friends are just more important, you know? I know not to you, who are listening. And you wait for the podcast on Saturday. Maybe you’re just listening to all this and know no different. But I apologize to anybody who waits on Saturdays for the podcast. But friends are just pretty rad. And I couldn’t record earlier in the week, because I was doing so many things. In. Santa Ynez Valley.
So it’s Sunday. My husband on the couch watching ESPN sports recap stuff. So I’m sitting on the floor of our bedroom. Because as right now, the dog’s coming in, and he’ll just play this game. Because he doesn’t like the door being shut. So he’ll come in, and mosey around, and see that I’m super boring in the bedroom, and then he’ll want to leave and he’ll whine at the door. So it’s just really annoying. He just brought a bone in here. So apologies now if you can hear that annoying sound. This dog.
1. Santa Ynez Valley trip [2:04]
So anyways. I just got back into town from Santa Ynez Valley, and you guys. It is seriously one of the coolest places I have ever been. I had never even heard of this place. I don’t know a ton about California, because it’s the most gigantic state ever. But I know I hate going to LAX, and I hate being in LA. And even a lot of other spots that I go to are just a little bit too busy. Because Denver is like that too, now. So just going to another state, or another city to sit in more traffic is not what I think of when I want to be on vacation.
So, this trip; I work with a ton of visitor bureaus to showcase their city. So they will set up an itinerary of things that would interest me and my readers. So mine are wellness and food related. So I worked with the visit bureau of Santa Ynez Valley, and you fly into Santa Barbara. Which Santa Barbara is the best airport ever. Why can’t all airports be like that? There’s, I don’t know, 6 gates. Nobody is there. It’s so easy. You just check your luggage. You get your luggage in 14 seconds. It’s so easy, and calm, and beautiful, and well-kept. It’s just awesome.
So you fly in Santa Barbara, which is easy breezy. And then there’s a lot of fires going on right now in California, so I had to take the longer drive from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez. But that is like 45 minutes instead of 25 minutes, so it’s really not a big deal. Sometimes to go 7 miles, it takes me 45 minutes to go to downtown, Denver. So that was awesome. Because you drive by the coast. So it’s a beautiful drive. There’s no traffic. It’s just calm. So It’s very calming. So I drove to Santa Ynez the long way. And the valley is made up of all these little towns. I had no idea when I got there what it was really like. But I went straight to Solvang, which is like this little Danish town. It seriously reminds me of Epcot in Disney World. Because all the buildings are Danish style buildings. Even, you’ll have Thai food and it’s in a Danish style building. They have their HOA pretty strict there, obviously.
So, we, meaning me. I was solo on this trip. So I drove into Solvang. I checked into Hotel Corque. So that was really close to just downtown area. And you can walk everywhere downtown. (My dog is bringing the bone closer and closer.) So the downtown area is super walkable. And it has a bunch of little shops. It’s like very touristy shops. So they have lots of little shops, like gift shops. They have a sh*t ton of Danish chocolate shops and bakeries. Which, I was like, there’s no way they’re going to have gluten-free. And they’re not a gluten free strict bakery, by any means. But they had gluten-free options at one of them that I went to. I’m forgetting off the top of my head. But I’m going to have a blog post all about my travels there and the restaurants I go to.
So, I was able to get this dessert called the Sara. And it’s named off of a woman, and I’m forgetting the full name. But there was a cookie cloaked; I’m going to sued for that from Twix. But it’s drenched in chocolate, and it was so good. So good. And it was gluten free, which was cool. They had like 5 different gluten free options. So I went there twice, to get coffee, and then I got a muffin there, as well, and it was awesome. So it was nice to have a couple of gluten free options in walking distance. And then I went to a bunch of restaurants. Like two; maybe just one restaurant in Solvang.
And then the other town I went to was Santa Ynez. And that was even smaller than Solvang. It was like one block of different shops and restaurants. I went to an amazing restaurant called S.Y. Kitchen there. And then I went to a CrossFit gym there, and a Pilates studio. And the CrossFit gym was awesome. I’ve been in the CrossFit community for 7 or more years at this point, so you kind of know what the feeling is going to be like in a CrossFit gym, but you don’t know what the people are going to be like. And the people are really what make the difference there. And in this town, everybody knows each other. Everybody’s friends with each other, hopefully. And everybody was so nice. I was in a class of almost all women; there was one man. And all the women. A bunch of them had already read my blog, and followed me. And they were so sweet. One woman gave me earrings. I need to post it on my Instagram, because they are so cute. And she makes them herself.
Then, I also went to a Pilates studio. The owner, I believe her name was Jessica, off the top of my head. Was so cool. She’s from Alaska. And she opened a Pilates studio there. And she really wants to move to Denver. So I’m obviously in great support of that. So I need to email her and tell her to move here, and open a Pilates studio. Because that would be pretty rad. So Pilates was really fun. I still like CrossFit and Orange Theory more. I love that style of just feeling like you’re going to die in a workout. Pilates is much more kind of controlled. It just gets those tinier muscles, which I really like. And I feel like I get that with Barre. But I more so like, for my regular workout, CrossFit style or Orange Theory. But if I had a Pilates studio nearby that I would like to go to, I would go to that on a regular basis too. Just to get those tiny muscles. Like you do in Barre, as well. But it was so much fun.
And then I went to a town called Buellton. And you know, all these towns are like within 8 minutes of each other. You end up in another town in not even that long. And I went to a place called Industrial Eats there, and they have really cool, creative dishes. Because they have beef tongue. It’s a butcher shop, they use kind of all parts of the animal in really creative, and fresh ways. So I love that. The only thing is they don’t have air conditioning. But they have a big fan. But they have two big woodfire ovens. Because they make pizzas there. Which, I’m so bummed. I found out they make gluten-free pizza after I left. But they don’t have air conditioning, and I was about to die. I had jeans and a tank top on. But I just sat down, and I was so close to the woodfire pit, or whatever in there. It was super hot in there. But the food was awesome.
And then probably my favorite, by far my favorite was Los Olivos. So I stayed in Los Olivos the last two nights. Stayed in Solvang the first two, and Los Olivos the second two. And Los Olivos is the cutest town ever. It’s like a population of 1100 or so. And there are 30 wine tastings in like 2 square blocks. It’s amazing. It’s cool. All the people are so incredibly nice there. It’s a place where you don’t lock your doors. You don’t take your car keys in, you leave them in your car. And that’s so different here. When I was leaving town, I was, to my husband, I was like, “Make sure you set our alarm every day. Make sure you double check all the doors.” Because our neighbor is like selling drugs. So I’m not trusting all the folks that he’s bringing in. I’m not anti-drugs, believe me. But you’re not bringing the savoriest characters in when you’re selling drugs at 15 years old. I’m not sure what to do about that. If there are any cops out there, feel free to message me. Let me know.
But anyways, I trust no one. Especially in Denver. We’ve had break in in our neighborhood. I’ve had my car stolen years ago. You just don’t trust anybody. And nobody looks up and smiles. So just being in a town where everybody smiles. Everybody wants to know everybody’s name. Everybody wants to support each other. It’s just so cool. I was traveling solo the whole time, and I struck up so many conversations with random people. And it wasn’t f*cking weird. These were just nice people wanting to talk to you, and have a conversation, and enjoy their day at the coffee shop. And it was so cool to be around people like that. You just don’t get that really in Denver as much.
So I stayed in Los Olivos at the Fess Parker Inn. So if you guys. (Jackson, f*ck.) So the Fess Parker Inn was started by Fess Parker, and he is, this is kind of past my time. But I know this person is. But Davy Crockett, who wore the coonskin cap. So that’s Fess Parker. And they have this giant ranch in Los Olivos. And they have a giant ranch, and then they have an Inn that’s like a 19-room boutique hotel that is seriously one of my favorite hotels of all time. I feel so lucky I got to stay there. It was stunning. Seriously stunning. And they have a farm to table restaurant now, because they’re raising their own cattle, and chickens, and goat. They’re raising everything on their farm, and growing their own vegetables, so they can do this farm to table restaurant.
And they’re still growing it. Still coming, so they can actually do the whole restaurant. But the food was so amazing at this Fess Parker Inn. And it’s called the Bear and Star. And the chef, named John Cox, was just so excited about. He was kind of shy, and then he would start talking about food, and farming, and farm to table, and he would just light up. And his whole personality would come to life. It was really cool.
So, I got to stay at the Fess Parker Inn, and I got to do a horseback tour of their winery. So Fess Parker, he just passed away. But his granddaughter runs the ranch now, with her husband, who used to be a bull rider. Total cowboy and cowgirl, just super cool people. And they showed us around the ranch on horseback. Like 2 hours on horseback. And then I ended up going out; we did a wine tasting, as well. Because they have a huge winery. And then we did a wine tasting, then we went out to dinner at the Bear and Star. I was supposed to do that by myself, and they tagged along because it was just a fun day. And they’re just cool people. Just easy to get along with.
What else. I went to a ton of wine tastings. And I got to see big wine tastings, like sun stone, which is a huge winery. And then I got to do story of soil, which is one woman just creating her own wine, which was pretty rad. So I got to see a real difference in big man to little many type industry. It was just so fun. All the restaurants out there are amazing. The people are amazing. The hotel, the service, the customer service. Everything was all amazing the entire time. Everybody was so friendly. It was just so much freaking fun. So yeah, it was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. I highly recommend anyone to go there. I might be going to Santa Barbara in November, and I think I might extend my trip and go back out to Santa Ynez and Los Olivos and visit that farm again, and visit the cowgirl and cowboy and hang out with them again. Because it was just one of the best times. It was so much fun. F*ck, it was so fun you guys.
2. Upcoming travel plans [15:07]
I have just so much travel coming up right now. I just got back on Friday, and I leave again on Thursday. And this time I’m going to Austin. I’m hanging out with the people behind Siete Foods. Which I’ve talked about them, probably on My Favorite Things podcast before. Because they’re such a great company. So they make grain free tortillas and tortilla chips and great products. So they work and live in Austin. So they invited me and a handful of other bloggers, including Lexi from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen, Vanessa from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind. I went on book tour with her. And then Cassy from Fed and Fit. I actually wrote the exercise portion of her program, and her book. Her cookbook.
So all four of us, I think it’s just all four of us. They got a house for us, and we’re just doing like a blogger tour of Austin. We get to go out there and hang out with Siete Foods. Tour their facility and hang out. It’s just going to be so much fun. And those are four, or three of my favorite girls to hang out with. And we usually go to PaleoFx every year and get a house together. And that’s our time to actually hang out. Because we all live in different states. And that’s our one time to hang out and ask questions about how a person is making money. How they’re running their business and inspire each other. Lexi is always so helpful and inspiring. And in this business, you’re always learning and figuring out new things. So to be able to bounce ideas off of each other is just so cool.
So we usually do PaleoFx together, and this year none of us really wanted to go. It’s just a super expensive weekend. And we’re not a huge fan of the event itself. We went to Expo West this year, and that was so much fun. Vanessa, Cassy, and I, we went to Expo West in California. And we thought that was way cooler. Because they had a ton of gluten free and paleo products to choose from. But they also had natural, like body products. So they had a ton of stuff at Expo West. So it was a little bit better networking event. So we decided to not go to PaleoFx, which is a bummer, because it gets us into Austin and hanging out. So we’re so excited to go on this trip and hang out with each other, and just spend a few days with each other.
So we’re going Thursday through Sunday. And then I’m back for a week and a half. And then I leave for a 9-day, I think it’s 9-day trip to the Caribbean. So I’ve talked about this on the podcast before. But from Vanessa, Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind, one day she texted me and she was like, “Hey, would you want to fill in. We had some friends drop out of our yacht trip that we’re going on in the Caribbean in August.” And like, no questions asked. I was like, 2 spots booked. Here’s my money, take it. I want to go. And it was no questions asked. And I was like, I’ll figure out who can go with me later.
And of course, I invite my husband first. But he seriously works all the time. So he can’t go. He couldn’t take that much time off. He couldn’t leave early because we fly into St. Martin and then we leave from St. Martin. The yacht can’t take him back, because it’s an island-hopping trip, so we stay on the boat but we go to new islands every day. So the boat can’t just take him back and go off route.
So anyway, he can’t go. So I asked my best friend Laura. And she just went to Iceland, and she has some other stuff coming up, so she couldn’t go. So then my second person I was ready to ask was my sister-in-law. Because my sister-in-law loves the beach, and she loves drinking. So this trip is perfect for her. She’s really good at partying. And I’m not good at that, but I am good at being on the beach.
So, yeah. We’re going to a 9-day trip to the Caribbean. And then I have a trip to Boise, Idaho. And then I have a trip to Lake Powell. And I think San Antonio. And I don’t know from there. F*ck. It’s crazy. There are so many trips coming up. And I just feel so bad to leave my dog so many times. But he’ll be ok. It will all be ok.
So yeah. It’s pretty fun to get to go on all these trips. I still get the question, all the time, of “When are you guys going to have kids?” And it’s hard to answer when I get to go on trips like this on a regular basis and not have to think twice about it. And I can say yes to a Caribbean trip on a yacht with one of my best friends. How do you say no to that? I feel so lucky. And whenever people ask about having kids, I should be like, “Nope, sorry, I’m traveling. Can’t get pregnant.”
Speaking of pregnancy, I really need to figure out my birth control. Ugh. A girlfriend at the gym who used to work with OB/GYNs, she just keeps reminding me that I’m going to be pregnant if I don’t figure out my birth control soon. We’re being safe. Believe me, we’re not stupid. But, I need to figure that sh*t out.
And this is what sucks. When I talk about birth control on this podcast, I get so many opinions. And someone will be like, “Oh, Mirena was the best thing ever for me. It was so great!” And someone else will be like, “It was the worst experience of my life.” And then it’s the same thing with whatever that one is that goes in your arm, or a copper IUD. Or whatever. It’s like, (Jackson, f*ck dude!) It’s like, so many people have all these different opinions and experiences. So then you listen to all of them, because you’re like, well I don’t want to go through a miserable experience. So you listen to someone else. I just really need to get into a doctor. It’s just like, when the f*ck do I have time?
Oh my god, I don’t know if you just heard that, but that was Jackson burping. F*cking gross man.
So, anyways. Since I have all this travel coming up, I still need to figure out my international plan. I think I’m just going to use my phone as a hotspot. But a lot of these islands, I heard that you swim into just on a raft. Like on a float. So it’s not exactly safe to bring my computer. So what I’m trying to do right now is get all my posts ready. So all my recipes done, and written up, and so my email assistant can just log in and post my blog post every single day. So you have new recipes coming to the blog every single week. And then I have required posts that I work with companies. So that’s the scary part, making sure I get those done and up to date. Because what if internet doesn’t work that day? What if my hotspot isn’t working? What if there’s no service? I’m just kind of nervous for that.
And my assistant, who is one of my close friends. She’s like, “Ok, you need to actually have a real vacation.” Because whenever I go on trips, they’re never real vacations because I’m either; my business is my business. So, if I don’t post, I don’t make money for my family. I can’t just not post. That’s just not an option. So I make sure these posts are ready to go. But especially when I’m posting for a business for another company, there are just more details involved. And I obviously don’t want to f*ck up a relationship with any of the companies that I work with. So I’m kind of nervous about that. And I still want to have a vacation. I just want to make sure I get all my work done in a timely manner. So I’m trying to get all of that done quick enough. But I keep going on all these trips. So I’m just nervous right now. I have a bit of anxiety going on about getting everything done, and all the recipes done. But it will work. It will happen. Everything will come to fruition. I think that’s one of my favorite words. I feel like I say that word all the time.
So yeah, that’s what’s going on over here. A ton of travel and it’s been so much fun. And if you ever get the chance to visit Santa Ynez valley, you have to. And you have to stay at the Fess Parker Inn. Because it is f*cking sick. It is so awesome. And the restaurant is so, so bomb. And then take a horseback tour of the entire ranch. It was so fun. I just loved it so much! And I hadn’t been on a horse in, I don’t know, 18 years. Some crazy sh*t like that. That’s really scary to me. Oh my god, I’m seriously almost 30. I’m not a scared of the numbers person. But I’m more so scared about not planning my birthday in time. And I need to plan it. Ok, my birthday is not until April, and it’s July. But you know, you’ve got to plan ahead. I still have to decide where I want to go. I’m hopped up on coffee if you can’t tell. I haven’t eaten today, and I’ve only had coffee. Because it’s 8 in the morning. But I think I might do Hawaii. Hawaii is just a straight away. I think they have direct flights from Denver, which is pretty badass. I feel like I want to go places you can go direct.
3. Favorites for beauty [25:12]
Anyways. That’s what’s going on over here. So, today is going to be a quicker podcast. Because I’m just going to talk about some of my favorite things going on that I’ve been loving lately. Other than my adorable puppy, who is putting my butt right near me so I can scratch his butt. He’s just so dang cute, oh my god I love him.
So I was going to talk about my favorite things. I haven’t done a podcast like this in a hot minute, I don’t think. So whenever I do my favorite things, it’s like beauty products. It’s just stuff, anything that I’m loving. It could be anything that I’m loving lately. So let me pull up that list.
Oh, ok. So one of the things I’m loving lately is TULA products. So talked about TULA on the blog, and I actually still have a discount on my blog. I think the discount goes until September. So I have discount for a good chunk of time. And I forget what it is. It’s like 10 or 20% off your order, maybe. I forget. Anyways. I’ll link it in my blog post. So TULA are probiotic products, facial products. So I use their cleanser on the face. Some of my favorite products are their eye serum. So I love, dammit. I have coffee running through my blood.
I love the eye serum. I use their illuminating serum, and that’s my favorite product of all of them. Their illuminating serum, their deep wrinkle cream. I love their night, I forget what it’s called. It’s like a night conditioning thick cream. It makes your skin feel so soft in the morning. I’m feeling my face right now. So I love that product. It makes your skin feel so soft. And it’s like it’s protecting it overnight, because it stays thick on your face overnight. Your face doesn’t wake up dry. So I’ve been loving their products. I’ve been using them daily. But I’m using them on top of my other products that I’ve talked about.
So I’ll get a lot of questions, like, “So are you not using your Vivant products anymore?” And I totally still am. I use all kinds of different Vivant products, like their mandelic acid face cleanser, their mandelic acid serum. Their vitamin A. I use a Beyond complexion vitamin C. So I use a sh*t-ton of products on my face every single day. And I have loved adding TULA to my routine. So I’ve really loved it.
I did a whole blog post about it, which includes a discount in there. So you can just go to the blog, and if you go under the beauty tab, it has all my favorite products there in case you forget any of these and you’re trying to go back by 15 seconds and it’s annoying. So just go to www.PaleOMG.com and it has all my favorites there.
So one time when I was, a couple of episodes ago I was interviewing Liz Wolfe. And she was talking about one of her favorite products is CoQ10. So, she sent me this CoQ10 product to try. And I haven’t used it long enough to know, but I’m still loving it. And adding it to my; I forget why it’s even good for your skin. I don’t care, really, sometimes. Because there’s just too much knowledge out there. That was a really dumb statement.
So anyways, I’ve added CoQ10 to my skincare routine. I actually want to go look at the exact brand, just because. You should see my room right now, it’s just a sh*t-show mess after unpacking. But, let’s see. So HIQ. It’s called HIQ facial serum, and it’s a CoQ10. So she sent me a bunch of samples, a handful of samples to try. And I’ve been really loving adding that.
And then I’ve talked about this in previous posts. But my favorite face mask is the, I want to make sure I say it right. Andalou naturals. The instant brighten and tighten hydroserum facial mask. This has vitamin C in it, and it just brightens up your skin a ton. And I already use vitamin C, but it’s nice to get a little extra punch sometimes. So those are kind of the facial products that I’ve been loving lately. They’re just so great. They’re so great. All of them.
4. Favorites for food [30:04]
Ok, let’s see what else I have on my list. Oh, ok the next one I have is food related. So I am obsessed with this brand, Fourth & Heart. And they have ghee. If you don’t know what ghee is, it’s clarified butter. So they cook butter down, and then they remove the milk solids at the top. You can skim them off. You can make ghee yourself at home, you don’t need to buy it. But you can make it yourself. I just don’t personally want to take the time to do that. But you can skim the milk solids off the top after it boils down, and then you have this ghee. This clarified butter.
But Fourth & Heart, they just make ghee unlike anybody else’s ghee. It’s really creamy. Almost like if you sit butter on the counter, and you can slice into it. It’s just like butter, you know. So that’s what it’s like. It’s just so creamy. I’ve never been like a lick the spoon if I have butter or ghee on it type of person. And I see many people do that. My mother has been like that for years. I always thought that was so disgusting. But their ghee is that good that you can just lick the spoon after you’re trying to dump it in a pan or whatever. It’s so good.
I really like the Himalayan sea salt one. That’s the one I like to use for cooking, but they have a ton of different flavors. They have a vanilla bean, they have a truffle. They have a ton of different flavors. That is so good. Obsessed with them. And they are so nice. They reached out to me after I posted; I found them at whole foods and I posted about them, and they reached out to me and sent me a box full of other ones to try. Since I didn’t even see all the different ones they have on the shelf. Because I’m sure Whole Foods decides which ones go on the shelf, even. And every Whole Foods is different.
How crazy is it that Amazon bought Whole Foods? That’s bananas.
But this Fourth & Heart ghee is so freaking good. You can find it at Whole Foods, and I’m sure you can find it at other places. People all the time, whenever I post a product, they’re like, “Where can I find that?” I’m like, go on their website and look up store locator. Yeah, duh. I don’t know where you find it in Canada. I don’t know where you find it in Indiana. Look it up near you. You can find it. There’s always a store locator on a website. Duh. Come on. It’s the 21st century, bro!
So that ghee is seriously one of my favorites. Obsessed with it. They’re so cool.
Another company that I’m loving is Forest Coffee. It’s a cold-brew coffee. I find it at Whole Foods. And it’s in the cold section, like by the Almond Milks and other cold-brew coffees. And what I like about their cold brew is it already mixed with water. It’s super smooth, it’s not bitter. And it doesn’t destroy my gut, like a lot of cold-brew coffee does. Because I don’t water it down enough, because I love crazy strong coffee. But then my stomach is in knots. So this cold-brew coffee is already watered down. It’s so smooth. And I’ve been drinking that, that’s what I’m buying every week at this point. Two bottles a week, because my husband has some too.
And I’ve been adding it; this is another one of my favorites. My vanilla sweat cream cold-brew collagen coffee. Like, what a stupid long name. I’m so annoyed with myself. But I’ve been adding that Forest Coffee to that collagen coffee that I make every morning that I’m home. And I love this recipe. I love it so much. And my friends; I shouldn’t call my friends, because we’re more acquaintances. But I just think of them as my friends. But my friends at Just Be Kitchen, they tried it and made it themselves. That’s a paleo restaurant here in Denver. They made it, and then they put it on their menu. So cool. Anyway, I like having that as my coffee every morning. It’s so weird whenever you’re traveling and you can’t have your regular coffee routine. And I brought collagen packs with me, and I brought a little, what’s it called? Like a little handheld frother. And then I would blend the collagen into my hot coffee. But it’s just not the same as iced collagen sweet cream cold brew coffee. It’s just not the same, ok? But it did the trick, and I still got my collagen every day while I was traveling.
So that’s another favorite. Are these packs. So I like these little single packs that you can bring with you while traveling. And collagen is powder form. You can totally just dump it into a bag and bring the scoop with you and just add coffee every day. But it’s so nice to have individual packs so you don’t have to worry about bags opening and going all over everything and you have powder everywhere. So I’ve been loving these little single packs of collagen while I’m traveling, since I’m traveling so much these next few months. To make sure I’m still getting my collagen. I’m still growing that hair.
And yes, I get emails all the time from people asking, “Does collagen actually work or is this just a phase? Is this just a trend, or whatever?” And for me, collagen really has worked. My nails grow crazy fast, which is really annoying because I have to get them done more often. And then same thing with my hair. My hair is growing way faster than usual, which blows because I already get my hair dyed every 3 weeks. Because I’m naturally blonde. And if you’ve seen any pictures, my hair is brown. So I dye my hair brown every 3 weeks. I have a hair appointment next week, and my roots are already showing. I have a root spray, to cover up my blonde roots, and they’re already showing. So that’s what sucks. But it’s really awesome at the same time. Because of course, I want longer hair. Because why not?
You know what else sucks? My hair stylist went on maternity leave. And I really want her back in my life. As well as my cleaning lady. I feel like I sound so pretentious when I say that. But this cleaning lady has made my life so much better when I work from home and destroy my home every single day with taking food photos and making food and doing dish. And it’s like just a sh*t show. She just had twins. So everybody is on maternity leave. And I’m just over here trying not to get pregnant, and figure out birth control.
5. Traveling solo [36:57]
So yeah. That’s what I’m loving. Also, I am loving traveling solo. I love traveling with my husband. We do really, really well together traveling. It’s never like a very stressful situation. Because he is so f*cking chill, and whenever I start to freak out he really calms me down. He’s just easy to hang out with all the time. But I still love traveling by myself. I think it goes back to me being an only child and doing a lot of things by myself growing up. So it’s so nice traveling solo and talking to new people. I had a schedule, but I didn’t have a tighter schedule to keep with someone else. So things could kind of move around and I could do whatever I wanted to do. (Why are you shoving your face onto my leg?) This dog. He just doesn’t want to leave his mom’s side, because I left him for a week. (Do you? Can I have a kiss? Oh boy, he just gave me a kiss.)
So I’ve been loving traveling solo. And I’ll probably have more trips in the future traveling solo, so that will be cool. Just to do some of those. The only thing is I hate experiencing stuff without my husband, and telling him these cool experiences and him not being a part of it. So it’s definitely a fine balance of still loving and having fun in our marriage while still getting to do things separate. So traveling solo is just so fun. And I think it’s really empowering. Because I remember being younger, and {laughs} I wonder if you can hear Jackson trying to give me a kiss in this recording. He’s so cute.
I remember being younger and being really, really insecure. I never wanted to get to a restaurant before all my friends. I never wanted to go anywhere, have coffee by myself. I was very insecure about being alone. And I’ve always been an only child who has been alone a ton. But just in social settings, it felt like people were judging me. Like, “Why is this girl having dinner by herself.” And now to be able to do that I think it is so empowering. I had multiple dinners by myself, breakfast by myself, going to coffee by myself. Walking around the town by myself. There were a ton of things that I did by myself, and it’s so empowering to be able to walk in somewhere, sit down. I would dress up to go to dinner, be all dressed up, and have cocktail and dinner all by yourself and be totally comfortable with that. And be comfortable in silence. It was awesome.
So I think it’s so empowering, especially as a woman, to be able to do that. And highly recommend to push yourself, if you’re a person who is not comfortable with that sort of setting to push yourself to be able to do that. I think it’s so cool. So it was so much fun to travel solo, and I think I have a couple more trips coming up by myself. But hopefully I can pull my husband out of work so he can hang out. It’s crazy. His work has just gotten busier and busier over the years, and just continues to. So this is his one day off, which is why I shouldn’t be recording a podcast in our bedroom while he has his one day off from work.
But we have a backyard that we’re still waiting on finishing touches of our furniture. We ordered a couch for a corner of our backyard. So now we’re just waiting on this furniture to have our backyard settled, so we love hanging out there. But I came home to a new table and chairs that he had put together. And now we have a table and chairs in our backyard. So that’s so exciting. Stupid adult stuff it’s so exciting.
6. Favorites for fashion [40:48]
Ok. Last but not least, one other thing that I’m totally loving right now is Made Well. So if you don’t know what that is, it’s just a clothing company. They have stores. They’re also available in Nordstrom. They just have the cutest clothes. I wore this really adorable skirt when I was in Santa Ynez Valley to dinner, and they just have really nice quality, pretty clothes. They’re just very pretty, and I’ve been loving their stuff lately. It’s very simple. And reasonably priced. Sometimes they have items that are more expensive than usual, but pretty reasonably priced. The under $100 mark is pretty constant there. I think their jeans are $80 and they’re supposed to be really comfortable. I’ve actually never tried on jeans, because I just started wearing their clothes more often in the summer. But I heard their jeans are awesome, so I’ve loved their clothes lately.
And, that brings my favorite things right now. Which sucks whenever you listen to this, say you’re listening to this 4 months from now. But the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. So, while I was on this trip, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale went live. Which, I was bummed because I was invited to go to a Nordstrom store early to shop the sale early. But of course, I was not in Colorado. So I woke up. I set my alarm. I went to bed at 10, in the hotel that I was at. And then I set my alarm for midnight, because the sale started at midnight, pacific time. So I set my alarm for midnight. And then I went through all the times, I purchased my favorites from the sale. And then I linked all the items, the favorites, from the sale on my blog.
So this took about 3 hours, because the internet was super slow at that time, for some reason. So I kept falling asleep while I was doing this post. As I’m trying to order stuff and link stuff at the same time. I kept falling asleep. But I got that post up of all my favorites from the sale. So you can find that on the blog. But the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is by far my favorite sale of the year. I think it’s better than Black Friday. I think it’s better than Cyber Monday. I think it’s just the best sale. They just have the cutest stuff on major sale. And it opens. If you’re a card holder, they have early access sale for cardholders. And so for two weeks, you can shop the sale. I think it’s two weeks, you can shop the sale early. And then it opens to the public. So if you’re a card holder, you just have more of the sale before it all sells out. And a lot of stuff sells out pretty quickly.
So that sale was awesome. And actually, the site crashed the first day it went live. Because of course, a ton of bloggers talk about it and a lot of people just know about it. So they started crashing in the daytime. And since it crashed for a couple of hours, Nordstrom was nice enough to do; instead of, I think they give you a point per dollar you spend. And the more points you get, the more money back you get. And the higher tier you can get, so you can shop the sale even earlier. The higher tier you are as a card holder. So since the site crashed, Nordstrom made it instead of 1 point per dollar, you made 10 points per dollar for 2 days. So I actually went shopping once more for any other items, just because it was 10 points per dollar day, which is pretty awesome compared to one, or whatever you make.
So the sale is just awesome. And it goes until August 7th. So if you’re listening to this later on, and it’s still in that time frame, go to the sale. It is such a good deal, and it’s my favorite sale of the year. So yeah. Those are my favorites right now. Those are Ju-Ju’s favorites. Talking about myself in the third person.
7. The Bachelorette [45:22]
I forgot to talk about the Bachelorette. I just watched it yesterday, because I was out of town and missed it. And I half watched it, because I was working at the same time I was watching it. And I listen to a podcast about it before. And get this; I listen to the Reality Steve podcast. Which he usually doesn’t talk about who wins. And he did. It was a major spoiler. I tried to skip; didn’t skip in time. So I know who wins at this point. I’m not going to say how I feel about it. Because that will give it away. So I know who wins. But this episode, it’s just so weird. All these guys; like, Peter is saying how he was in love with a girl and then he left her. She doesn’t ask him why, and he’s crying about it. It’s like, you’re crying about a relationship while you’re on a date with another person. That’s not a good sign, man.
And then Bryan, chiropractor, implants in his cheeks guy. He talks about how he was a really bad kid and how he had to go to an all-boys catholic school. And she doesn’t question that? Maybe you should ask about that. Maybe you should dig into that a little bit more, Rachel. That’s pretty much all I got from it. But next will be good, and I’ll have to do a recap of that.
But now I need to go walk my dog. I need to actually hang out with my husband. I need to spend some time with the people I love, since I’m going to be gone so much. So thanks for tuning in. So sorry this podcast was late this week, but thanks for listening. And yeah. I’ll just try to keep up on these podcasts as much as I can while I’m on these trips. I’ll have to just do some voice memos in my hotel room. That will just be my go-to, I guess. (Give me a kiss, dog!)
Maybe I’ll record one from sea. And do that. I might do that. That might be cool. Right? Ooh, that’s a good idea. Ok I will talk to you soon. Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe. And only leave nice reviews. Because mean people have heart attacks. Isn’t that stress related? Heart attacks. I don’t know. I don’t care. Be nice to people. That’s all I’ve got to say. Keep being awesome. Thanks for listening. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye-bye for now.
Just another fun birth control to add to the mix of probably over-information coming your way. There is another IUD smaller than the mirena (and newer) is the liletta. It’s the same hormone make-up as the mirena (so, progesterone only), but it’s a bit smaller (less painful for getting it) and it’s currently a shorter term until more studies are completed, which could be good if it works and you can upgrade to the longer run mirena next time, since it’s the same chemically, or if it doesn’t work and you need to switch out early, it’s less potential years of use “wasted”. I’m sure you’ll hear some mixed reviews with this, as with everything, so I’ll throw my opinion in as: I’m happy customer of almost a couple years now.
Just curious if you continue your normal skin care routines when travelling? I am going on a 5 day trip and only doing a carry on bag; some of my skin care items are too large to carryon (for example, the Tula cleanser is huge) and I’m wondering if there is an easier way to take those items than the old school filling up the tiny plastic bottles. Any thoughts? As always, thanks for all you do, you rock. And the Tula stuff is the shit, so thanks for the recommendations!
i do! MOST of my products are travel size, except for the cleanser so i just put it in little travel size bottles. annoying but worth it! and i’m so glad you’re loving Tula!! I’m seriously obsessed!
So exciting to hear that you’re coming to Boise! Do you have your entire tripped planned out already? I would love to throw out a couple recommendations if you’re looking for anything to do.
Hi Juli!
I listened to your podcast comments today about birth control. I recently have been thinking of getting of birth control due to the hormones, but also do not want to have a baby anytime soon. I listen to recent Joe Rogan podcast with guest speaker Kelly Brogan (episode #968) and she was talking about the negatives of birth control. She suggested a temperature monitor called Daysy. It’s just as effect as birth control, but no pill or hormones! I am thinking of transitioning to this.
My question I have is regarding a wedding routine. I am almost 1 year away from getting married. I know how important healthy eating and exercise is, but do you have any other suggestions for a bridal beauty routine? I was thinking of starting to do regular facials? Any advice would be great or things you wish you would have done before your wedding more consistently.
Thanks!
i did a chemical peel a few months before my wedding and kept up with my regular monthly visits to the esthetician. i also got botox a month or so before (but i had already been doing that) and i whitened my teeth before, as well!!
Hi Juli! I listened to your podcast and totally relate to the birth control problem! I was recently listening to a Joe Rogan podcast and he had Kelly Brogan on (episode #968). She was talking about the harm of birth control altogether and suggests another form- it’s called Daysy. It as effective as birth control, but without the hormones! I haven’t tried it, but am seriously considering it.
Also, I am almost a year away from my wedding. Do you have any suggestions for a bridal beauty routine? Healthy foods, exercise… anything else? Or things you wish you did while preparing for your wedding? Thanks!
yeah i’ve heard all about that, but i’m not interested in taking my temperature every single morning lol. and my beauty routine included just keeping with my exercise and healthy eating and i did a chemical peel a few months before and got botox (which i regularly do anyways) about a month before.
Hi, I love your beauty recommendations. At chance you have a favorite shampoo/conditioner? Trying to find a more “natural/healthier” one with out the added junk but that still works and doesn’t break the bank. Would love your thoughts. Thanks!
i don’t have a natural favorite, i’m sorry!