Hot Girl Summer has finally finished her run and I am shocked at my relief for the fall. Ahh..Basic Bitch Autumn! I never appreciate this season much because it feels so nostalgic and emotionally heavy, whereas the summer usually feels fun and carefree. I would say the summer months were hectic for me, too busy, and overwhelmingly hot / annoying. I got sick a lot so I felt like I missed out on a lot. So, I welcome pumpkin spice spooky season with open arms. Thank god there are no more mosquitos coming for my life.

I’m coming off of an instagram detox – can you believe I stayed off for the month of September? That’s a new record for me. Consider also that September is my birth month, so essentially I wasn’t even there to accept all of the attention I normally luxuriate in! Instead, I celebrated by taking my first trip home to SF all of 2019, spending time with friends and family, reading more, listening to tons of podcasts, and getting back on track to live my best life.

I don’t know about you, but doing the right thing for myself takes dedicated planning! I’ve mentioned I had been looking to start therapy again because my previous experiences were so enlightening, but goddamn I must have forgotten how much time and effort it takes to actually find a therapist. It took months of searching, but finally I found someone!

I’ve also struggled a lot with finding any motivation to exercise, even though I know it’s such an essential practice for mental and physical health. In my detox month, I set the goal to wake up early every day and walk/run in the park for a half hour before work. So far I’ve been pretty consistent and achieving that morning goal makes me feel like I accomplished something, even if the whole day sucked.

Other things I’ve done on the break – after a carnivorous season, I’ve cut back to my normal veg eating practices when cooking / eating by myself (which is the vast majority of my meals).

Also, I got around to submitting an expense report spanning the course of 5 months, and felt both shame and pride in knowing that I could essentially loan the company that much money and NOT go broke. It’s a big deal for me… 😭

I’ve become a farm cat lady. I’ve been visiting my boyfriend’s farm in Vermont every month or so, and there are a gang of barn lions (six very cute but feral cats) who have won over the hearts of the team members who work on that farm, as well as mine. Instead of scrolling through instagram, I spent an obscene amount of time watching cat videos that I force my man to record for me on an almost daily basis. You would be surprised how much personality each one has if you just take the time to observe them! My favorite one is named Sir Grapefruit Peaches ‘n Cream Luong, but we just call him Grapefruit because he is orange. It has been my greatest honor to earn his affection over time.

For the most part, I’ve been working working working. I’ve been working across three brands, which is different from most product developers I know who work on one, if not a specific category of one. This has been a great learning experience to broaden my skillset across color and hair products, as well as an opportunity for ownership of projects since our team is super lean. What I’d love to strengthen now is a balance of wanting to say yes and charge forward, with a more critical and measured approach, which takes into account limits like bandwidth, budget, and timing constraints. Fun things. It’s great that I’ll never run out of things to learn 😉

I’ll end here by sharing selfies. With good lighting and some make up I’ve helped bring into the market, I clean up ok. I’m wearing the Smith & Cult Sombra Shift Matte and Metallic Eyeshadow Palette in Dusk Blaze, as well as the Locked & Lit CBD Lip Balm over some lipstick.

The delight I feel when playing with make up is simple. It’s fun, it makes me feel good, and lets me decorate and celebrate myself whenever I feel like it. I hope you take some time for that too.

xoxo

Trace