One to Nothin'

Mood & Wine Pairings

April 2, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Friends, Grocery Outlet is having a massive sale on all the wine right now, and they challenged me to come up with some pairings found throughout the store. I found all kinds of good stuff, but instead of just pairing the wine with food, I thought I’d pair it with the moods or phases, if you will, that I tend to cycle through. Go ahead and press play… you know it’s gonna get weird.

First up is my fancy, indulgent side. She’s usually celebrating something and drinking bubbles, like this sparkling rosé. She’s pretty into fancy goat or sheep cheeses, cured meats, and keeping her pinky up when drinking.

Next up is my hyper, nostalgic side. Every once in a while my inner sorority girl just wants to make everyone do shots, but since we’re grown ups now, it usually presents itself as the occasional mini beer pong game and the not-so-occasional Solo cup drinking device for Chardonnay. At the end of the night no one is more grateful for microwave burritos than I am.

Then comes my health nut phase. The one who subjects herself to 30 days of sugar, gluten, grain-free diets and 6am Mon-Fri workouts. She doesn’t always drink, but when she does it’s usually something light, low in sugar, and with plenty of veggies on the side.

Finally, there’s the high anxiety, low motivation version of myself who wants to wallow in chocolate, binge watch Netflix and drink all the red wine. It’s a somewhat unfortunate but fully necessary state in which I am simultaneously recharging and being completely useless.

Which wines do YOU pair with your different moods?

Thanks so much to Grocery Outlet for sponsoring this post. Be sure to stop by one of their stores to get 20% their entire wine selection until Tuesday, April 3. Plus, click here to get $3 off any purchase.

House Tour

March 29, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

MMG Cribs is back, y’all!

This time we’re coming through with the common areas, which I can mostly thank my roommates for making pretty. I did get to contribute this baller Bowie print thanks to Photowall though, before we get into all that, I want you to take a moment to reminisce with me. I showed you my old apartment in Livermore in this post, I showed you my room makeover in this post, but I want you to take a trip back to my first year in this place. Just four short years ago, right after moving out of Livermore (on my birthday, I might add), temporarily into the grandparents-of-my-nanny-kids’s house, I found this apartment on Craigslist with my roommate (who I hadn’t met IRL yet).

This was a v stressful time, y’all. Right after paying the first month’s rent and deposit, I realized I needed to register my car in California in order to get a street parking pass in my neighborhood–cut past several DMV visits and LOTS of fees to me calling my sister hysterical because I was about to overdraft on my account. My sister leant me $50, I calmed down, and I went on to get two job offers within a week of moving in (THANK THE LAWD). All this to say I sure as hell didn’t have extra funds lying around to buy a nice couch or a TV (things my Livermore apartment was already stocked with). Just look at it! I got used to it though and chose to spend the small change I had that year on essentials like hiking boots for Mt. Whitney and a snow jacket/pants (from the kids section) for my first snowboarding experience (traumatic), so here I am in my bare bones apartment, rockin’ my ski resort wear. That TV stand (if you can call it that) was found on the side of the road, just like our mirror and quite a few other essential household items.

Now that we have that background story, please feast your eyes on our still-a-work-in-progress home. We’ve come a long way, from that time my boyfriend-at-the-time moved in and brought a bunch of furniture with him (and didn’t take it when he moved out–bless him) to the time a not-boyfriend-dude moved in for a month and installed this here shelf/mug storage system (presumably because he was too nervous to ask us to make room for his shit). My two current roomies brought with them shelves, national park prints, book-styling skills, and a balcony space makeover. Isn’t it cozy? Ziggy loves sunbathing out here with the succulents.

Most recently I hung this abstract print of David Bowie, a gift from Photowall–it was delivered with a DIY frame and the print all scrolled up. I was nervous I was going to mess it up, but it was actually super intuitive and it turned out awesome. I love how the red brightens up the room, and since Ziggy is named after Bowie, I thought it was only appropriate to pay tribute to him after looking through all the available prints. They will print your own photo on the canvas as well, which I will definitely consider in the future.

If you’re interested in ordering a print from Photowall, you can get 20% off with this code:

OnetoNothinCampaign2018 just for the next 30 days

Now, pleeeease tell me your first-real-adult/broke-af apartment stories. All a part of the adulting process, y’all.

Link Roundup

March 27, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

I do this thing where I email links to myself. I’ve been doing it forever, but every once in a while I realize that those links aren’t going to share themselves, so I write a little link roundup. I really enjoy when other people curate good reads for me, so I’m just returning the favor. Here are some articles, clothing items, Instagrams I’ve enjoyed over the past few months.

Lee from America is definitely a gal to know if you’re into healthy, holistic living. I love these 15 ways to self-love and her honesty about bingeing was really interesting and eye-opening.

If you don’t already follow Mari Andrew on Instagram, you’re really missing out. I preordered her book and it will be delivered tomorrow. I cannot wait to devour it.

This mixtape to get your neighbors to stop boning made me LOL may too many times.

I find trend forecasts fascinating, but especially when it comes to snacks. I personally cannot wait for the healthy mocktails, and I’m fully intrigued by pickled watermelon rinds.

I just bought this oversized denim jacket (I sized up to a medium) so I can cover it with pins and patches. I love the deep pockets and how easy it is to layer sweaters underneath–go figure it’s on sale a week after I bought it.

Never have I ever related more to a personal essay about relationships. In my torrid dating past, I’ve both been the person who felt too unsettled in my career to move forward with someone who had his shit together, and vice versa. TIMING IS EVERYTHING, and it’s frankly a pain in my ass.

I’m really loving the main writers at Man Repeller lately (besides Leandra, who I’ve always loved), and this love language quiz for dating made me chuckle. What’s YOUR dating love language?

I thought this blog post about wanting to be seen, but being afraid to admit it, was beautiful. Everyone needs validation, guys.

One of the weirder hippie dippy trends I’ve read about lately: tapping. Have you tried it? Would you? What about dry brushing?

I’m so inspired by the brilliant teens leading this movement. I can’t wait until they’re in office. I didn’t get to march this past Saturday, but I was there in spirit and I tear up every time I see them making moves to end gun violence. #NeverAgain

I definitely hit a wall as far as Does This Have Dairy? goes.. but in the spirit of just freaking starting, I went ahead and made that bad boy public. There is so much I don’t know about building a functioning website, and it’s not really a thing I have time to learn right now, but I really do believe in this project, so I’m putting it out there. Check out my lactose intolerance story here.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I refuse to let perfectionism stop me from starting. I’ll figure it out as I go. Y’all with me? What have you been putting off because the stars haven’t aligned? For me, inspiration comes from doing and dedication, so sometimes I need to just do a few jumping jacks, or take a walk, get started and press publish.

Let me know in the comments what you’ve been putting off. I’m giving you permission, right here, right now, to do it, whether you think you’re ready or not. Leggoooo.

Freeform Friday

March 24, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

You guys, I have a lot to say and no patience for figuring out how to make it all cohesive, so here’s a string-of-consciousness type post because it’s Friday and why not?

Old Dog, New Tricks – I just learned after 8 years of being a dog mom that Ziggy loves *raw* broccoli and cauliflower. How weird is that? I’ve known for quite a while that she had an affinity for carrots, but I thought it was just because they’re sweet. This is a whole new world as far as cheap treats go. I wish she could teach me how to appreciate raw veggies as much as she does…

Real Food, Fewer Farts – On the subject of Ziggy, let’s talk about dog food. I used to buy the cheapest shit that still looked decent at the grocery store (Beneful Weight Control) because a) I made the decision back when I was super broke and b) it’s a huge bag that I would only have to haul up to my apartment every once in a while. Surprise! Neither of those are good reasons for buying a crap dog food. She constantly had gas–it was lethal, y’all. So after consulting with a lady at the pet food store, I decided to give this bougie dog food a try. I can’t even explain the immediately different I saw. Even though her old food was “weight control” and this one is not, she immediately trimmed down because she gets fuller faster eating real food (again, I shouldn’t have been surprised…). Her fur was SO much silkier, honestly after a week, and her energy levels are higher than ever. That little old lady ran six miles with me the other day. This is not sponsored, but KASIKS, if you want to send me dog food, I will GLADLY accept.

Whole30 Round V – Perhaps watching that powerful transformation made me take a second look at what I was fueling my own body with–I’m on day 23 of my fifth Whole30 rn. For as much as I talk trash about my will power, I kiiind of feel like Wonderwoman. Up until 23 days ago, I was feeling very out of control when it came to sweets and unnecessary carbs. No matter how many times I promised myself I was going to clean up my eating, I would go on autopilot and grab an extra cookie, donut, glass of champagne, you-name-it whenever it presented itself. Turns out my distracted brain doesn’t know how to pass up a sugar high, especially at the office (I’m oddly less likely to indulge at home…). I felt like trash, both because my stomach was constantly in pain and because when I looked in the mirror I didn’t like what I was seeing. I want to talk about how the past four weeks of going out to bars and happy hours without drinking has affected me, but that’s a post all on its own. Just know that I haven’t had processed sugar in over three weeks and I feel like a saint because of it. Bless up.

Sh-Sh-Shaking I’m Shaking – Guys, this Florida-native was not prepared for her first “big” earthquake. A couple months ago around 3am Ziggy pawed at me to let her under the covers and within seconds my entire apartment started vibrating. I panicked and while nothing fell and it really wasn’t all that dramatic, my heart rate didn’t go back down for an hour. Zig promptly crawled back out once the shaking stopped and sat at attention on the side of the bed with her own little body shaking until I fell back asleep. Then a few weeks ago ANOTHER one woke me up. This one was much less intense and didn’t last as long, but damn. Time to stock up on my emergency readiness kits.

101 in 1001 – I’ve seen these numbers strung together on the internet for years, but I never actually looked into it until a few weeks ago. Turns out it’s a realistic bucket list type deal with 101 actionable items to complete in 1001 days–about two and a half years so you have a couple seasons to get all your PTO in, etc. Obviously, I immediately started making my list. It’s not officially official yet, but I did get it written down and I am planning to share *most of* it with you very soon. Y’all know I love lists, adventures, and challenging myself, so this is right up my alley.

Social Media BS – WHAT IS HAPPENING. Snapchat making light of domestic violence, Facebook giving all our information over to the world’s most terrifying trolls, Instagram letting horrible racist gifs slip past the radar?! All this in addition to my already skeptical attitude about logging in simply because of all the fakeness, inescapable, mind-numbing, self-sabotaging comparison, the divisive political status updates (no joke, my friend count goes down every day as I delete people who make me want to rip my hair out of my head)–I’m almost tempted to go analog. I used to enjoy looking at photos and posting my own, but now it’s such a process. I want to edit them first, then find the right hashtags, then write a cute, quippy caption, by the time I actually post a damn photo, I’m exhausted. It’s definitely made me post less (the algorithm making me feel like no one cares doesn’t help), but I will say that I’ve really enjoyed story-telling through IG stories. I’ve been trying to be a little less filtered on there–letting y’all hear me singing karaoke at the top of my lungs or hollering at my homies while they bowl. I really enjoy editing videos too, so it’s time to conquer my fears. Next goal is to get comfortable talking straight to the camera, so watch out for this vlogger in the making (ha!).

1 Second Every Day — Speaking of videos, I downloaded this app that strings together 1-second video clips for you. My plan is to get a clip every day for a year. If nothing else, it’ll remind me to find something good or at least something to reflect on every day. Count me in for anything to encourage mindfulness and find something positive about even the most dreary days (and let me tell you, it’s been raining constantly for the past few weeks and it is NOT helping my moodiness). Plus, the interface is fire. Highly recommend.

Paddington Bear – I did find one positive (besides the obvious: avoiding wildfires, curing our never-ending drought, not doing my hair) about this miserable weather: THIS COAT. How flippin’ cute is it? I’ve worn it basically every single day, including in the snow here. The pockets are hand-warmers and there’s a waterproof media pocket inside. *mind blown* The last time I was this excited about a coat was probably back in this post.

Books Are Sexy – I’ve been a reading machine lately. If you guys don’t already have library cards, get on it. You don’t even have to go to the library to check out ebooks and audiobooks on your phone (or Kindle–I use Kindle for my phone because I have a ginormous iPhone Plus). Follow me on Goodreads to see everything I’ve been reading, but I just finished “Hillbilly Elegy,” and I absolutely loved it. Not because J.D. Vance is a brilliant writer, but because his insight into “hillbilly” culture is eye opening. It was honestly a little painful to read at times because a lot of it just felt so true, applicable, upsetting, therapeutic? I think it sheds light on some of the behaviors that Californians in my little bubble have no idea where to begin to understand (sometimes I feel like an outsider around these parts, tbh). I love that the author knows both sides of the spectrum and eloquently explains it. Anyway, if you read it, let’s talk about it. On the other hand, I recently read “The Sea of Tranquility” and hated it. It had awesome reviews, which is why I picked it to begin with, but after finishing it and having SO many questions/objections/WTFs, I found this glorious, scathing review and felt more validated than I have in a VERY long time.
Museum of Ice Cream – I finally got my hands on MOIC tickets and I took gazillions of photos (that’s where that photo up there is from). I’m not really sure what to do with them all, so I expect I’ll be writing a post about it soon. But if you get a chance, GO! It is a museum entirely dedicated to ice cream + lots of other treats that I can’t eat right (see Whole30 bullet), but the photo ops were worth the temptation. I learned tons of tid-bits about the history of ice cream while I was there too.

That’s what I’ve been up to lately. So many thoughts, so little time. I imagine my lack of posting on this here blog has much to do with the same qualms I have about posting to the ‘gram of late, so I’m going to try to get over it. Time to just do it, even if it is just a jumble of bullet points, because I spend enough time overthinking my words in my day job, and hey, this here blog started out as a stream of consciousness anyway. Remember back when I used to write entire posts about my drunk alter ego? Ah, the good old days.

PS: Need new music? Here’s my 2018 playlist so far. Follow along as I update all year.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

MMG Cribs Part II

March 16, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

I mentioned a while back how excited I was to redecorate my room… then I left y’all hanging. After months of ordering the wrong size, texture, and shape of curtains, putting together a queen-size bed frame for a full-size bed, receiving GIANT packages on my doorstep every night when I got off work, and spending waaaay more money than I should’ve, my room finally came together. Since then my roommate has given the balcony a makeover, we got new couch pillows, and added new art all over the place, so I think it’s finally time to show you guys around.

Let’s start with my room, shall we? My biggest and best transformation in here is my vanity, which used to just be a bunch of bright blue cardboard drawers stuffed with all kinds of stuff I didn’t know what to do with. The top of which, more often than not, was piled with stuff I also didn’t know what to do with. Since I work in the beauty industry (and share a bathroom with two other women), it quickly became clear to me that I needed to get organized with my products and make a space that was fun and easy to get ready in.

I added a mirror (which I found on the side of the road when I first moved in, I might add) designated a drawer to hair products, one to makeup (each category in a different type of bag, which I also have an abundance of these days), one to nails/cotton balls, one to sunscreen/self-tanning, and a few various drawers dedicated to important files, workout gear, etc.

On top of the shelf (is that what you’d call it?) I added a clear makeup organizer where I keep my most-used products for easy access. I’d love to chat more about how my skincare routine has evolved over the past year (a post for another day), but for now let’s just say I’ve seriously stepped up my masking game. On any given night my roommates will see me cooking, watching Netflix, or getting ready with multiple masks on my face at once. I like to focus the formula on the problem area instead of hoping one mask will rule them all, so I was excited at the opportunity to partner with Bioré. They sent me Deep Cleansing Pore Strips, which use charcoal to draw toxins out of the stubbornly visible pores on your nose (I also drink charcoal in juices, add it to my toothbrush to whiten my teeth, and you’ll even find it in my face wash) and the Self Heating One Minute Mask, which is great for oily areas like my T-zone and chin.

Next up, my mini gallery wall and sadly now-empty hanging planter. If you’ll take a trip through memory lane for a moment, let’s remember when I made my own wall art using an old planner I cut images out of and glitter-fied some Fun. lyrics… Oh, and had a mental breakdown because of a curtain rod. Those were good times, but luckily they’re over. I can now afford picture frames and art prints made by people who do art for a living (I cannot, however, afford a place with my own bathroom anymore, so that’s cool). I ordered the Labyrinth and Nate Ruess (I haven’t changed THAT much) prints from Society6, the painting of Ziggy I commissioned from Dog Doodlez, and the other two were free print downloads I found on the interwebs. As for the hanging planter, I assure you when I first hung it, it was overflowing with flourishing plants. Then they became super dead, so I threw them out.

I already showed you the new bed frame, newly painted bright white walls and curtains (they used to be blinds that made an awful screeching noise every time I pulled them up or down) back in this post, but I’m happy to say that I am now the proud owner of a queen-size mattress that actually fits the frame. How cute are my mid-century style bedside tables? I’m not sure how that cactus is still alive and well since I take even less care of it than the old hanging plants, but I’m not complaining. I also added that ceiling fan (I definitely had help), this rug, some cute shelves with gold hardware, and the same old dresser, except I added jewelry organizers and some hats hanging on the wall. I also got this cute cactus-print laundry basket that stands upright instead of the big, ugly bag that would spill out all over the floor.

As for the closet, well, it used to have *hideous* sliding wooden doors that absolutely refused to stay on the tracks and blocked me from seeing half the contents of my closet at all times. So I took them off and replaced them with these eye-print curtains, which has made my life significantly better (they’re hiding horizontally at the back of my closet because I’m a thinker). That’s about it for now, but I’ll be back soon to show you the new additions to the living room and balcony.

Thanks to Bioré for sponsoring this post. Be sure to get your own strips & mask on Amazon.
Also, a huge thanks to Donny from Toshiro Images for capturing these fun photos! Follow him on Instagram here.

#OTNTravels: Ha Long Bay

February 13, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Continuing on with the recap of my solo trip to Vietnam over Thanksgiving. See Days 1 & 2 here.

Day 3 – Thanksgiving

I woke up at 6am to get ready and hit up the continental breakfast at the hotel before getting on a bus to Ha Long Bay. It was not your average cold scrambled eggs and crappy coffee, friends. It was incredible, super strong Vietnamese coffee plus an array of delicious, fresh lychees still in the shell, mango, egg rolls, mini hotdogs, AND eggs to order. Next level. I’m big on breakfast, if you didn’t already know. Then I got picked up from the hotel in a bus complete with ornate seat covers and a hilarious female tour guide named Linda, who assured us that we’d be eating rats on the cruise ship (she might not have been joking–I ate a lot of things I didn’t recognize on this trip–but I laughed anyway). The bus was full of tourists, none of which were from America and none of which were traveling by themselves. I sat in a row by myself and zoned out listening to music the whole way there, feeling a little bummed that everyone else seemed to be coupled up, but also very zen meditating to the sounds of my offline music library and the bumpy, twisty 4+ hour ride there.

Once we arrived we lugged our suitcases onto the small boat to take us to the cruise ship. I made friends with an amazing couple from England, a couple from France, three friends traveling from Australia, two friends from Greece. We all ate lunch together after checking out our cabins–we were all pleasantly surprised by our 3-star boat. Aside from the ant-sized blankets and the freezing winds ripping through the boat, it was pretty nice! The staff brought out a giant feast that we had to eat at very specific times to stay on schedule. Our first excursion was to Ti Top Island which was described as a hike. It was actually a giant clusterfuck of tourists trying to follow this 15-min path up to a pretty view. Normally at least half the folks would be sunbathing on the beach or playing in the water, but it was freakin’ cold. Needless to say I wasn’t entirely impressed with this island, but luckily we didn’t stay long–had to stick to the schedule!

Next we stopped at “Amazing Cave” and thank the lawd we went after prime tourist time, so we got to enjoy the cave in all its glory. It was pretty cool to see the formations, but let’s be real, the highlight of the cave excursion was absolutely the giant phallic formation BATHED IN A PINK SPOTLIGHT. We. could. not. stop. giggling. Then we headed back to the ship for a “sunset party” even though it was way too foggy to actually see the sun setting. We learned how to say “Cheers” in Vietnamese and toasted our vinegar-tasting red wine before turning the jams up and getting tipsy. We ate dinner and bonded over beers (I heard rumors, that were later confirmed through experimentation, that liquor is often ‘watered down’ with a cheaper alternative that gives you the worst hangovers ever), karaoke, and stupid American pop songs, specifically Britney Spears’s “3”. Happy Thanksgiving! ‘MERICA!

The rest of the night consisted of me getting up randomly throughout the night to layer more of my clothing on to prevent myself from freezing to death. Did I mention there was no hot water either? All part of the experience, y’all.

Day 4

The next morning we woke up bright and early for breakfast and our next adventures (some of my new friends were too hungover to make it… woops). We headed out to the pearl farm to learn about how cultured pearls are made (I got to pick which oyster they cracked open and watched them pull the pearl out of it–gross and awesome) and kayak around the bay. Kayaking was by far my favorite part of the cruise–the water was SO green, the rock formations so beautiful, the company so lovely, and the quiet so, so peaceful. I could’ve stayed out there for a few more hours, but unfortunately we were still on a strict schedule. We headed back to the boat, ate lunch, learned how to make spring rolls, and had to say goodbye to our new friends. Luckily I ended up meeting back up with some of these folks later on though. Next up was the 4-hour bus ride back to Hanoi where I stayed at that same hotel from the first two nights. I definitely looked at the hot water and human-sized blankets with a renewed sense of appreciation this time though.

Day 5

On day five I didn’t have a plan or much motivation to explore, TBH. I went bright and early to get THE BEST crab noodle soup at Gian Truyen (also recommended by a friend) and iced coffee at Cafe Lam. It was v strong and tasted a bit like beer. I then checked myself in for an all-day massage at La Belle Spa. #selfcare I legit spent five hours getting massaged from head (AND FACE) to toe all for about $100 USD. Like, what is life? Everyone there was amazing, so sweet and chatty (before and after the massages) and brought me amazing tea, dessert, mango juice and dried fruit. I was a full-on jelly fish when I left that place, but my friends from the cruise were in town that day so I went off to find them. It took a while because I got distracted by a free outdoor concert going on by the lake and gave in to buying a faux North Face in preparation for Sapa the next day.

When I finally met up with them, we drank beers at an American gangster-themed bar (lolz there were giant murals of Tupac and Biggie). Eventually we went off to explore the touristy spot–they blocked off the streets from motorbikes and cars on Saturdays and it’s glorious. I bought some rice dish that I still have no clue what it was but it was incredible. Finally I had to head back to the hotel to catch a ride to the overnight train to Sapa. That was quite an interesting experience as well. I roomed with three other solo travelers. They were super friendly and I saw them throughout my stay in Sapa too. I didn’t sleep much though because the train is v loud and without Advil PM I don’t do well in loud train cars with strangers snoring around me. It was exciting nonetheless and I’d highly recommend it for adventure-seekers who a) don’t want to waste a day to traveling and b) don’t want to waste money on lodging for a night. I felt very safe and, let’s be real, I didn’t go to Vietnam so I could be comfortable.

Up next: Sapa… TBC.

All About that Balance

February 12, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

You know how at the beginning of the year everyone’s all pumped up about fitness and the gym is new form of crowded AF torture? Well, normally I hop right on that train because I love any excuse to ramp up my fitness anyway, but this year I started 2018 with one of the worst plagues I’ve had in years. It took me out for about three weeks, like, I missed several days of work because my coworkers (rightfully) gave me death stares when I came in coughing all over their desks. I don’t do well with being stuck indoors without the option of getting in more than 100 steps, so my year got off to a bit of a rough start. My weak immune system miiiight have coincided with traveling to FL for Christmas and NYC for new year’s where I barely slept and drank a bit more than the doc would recommend (AKA that phenomenon where I get sick every single time I travel).

When I finally got healthy again, I was invigorated and oh so grateful. I am fully committed to getting my money’s worth out of my *expensive* gym membership (even if that means slathering myself in a gallon of Kiehl’s products after every workout). I’ve been in it for the past few weeks and it feels GOOD, but I always struggle with being social AND healthy. When I’m kickin’ it healthy-style, I avoid making weekday plans because friends usually mean staying up late, drinking, eating junk, and missing morning workouts as a result (and don’t even get me started on dating…). I really enjoy evening workouts, but with my lengthy commute, that leaves me starving and not wanting to cook healthy dinners by the time I get home (ramen noodles again? Why not?). It’s a conundrum, but balance is everything.

Lately it’s been about getting a good mix into each week. I’ll make plans for happy hour or a concert one night, and I’ll be sure to go to bed extra early the night before so my workout will be done by 7am. The next day I’ll try for an evening workout and if I need a break, a break I’ll get. The best evenings are when I can convince a friend or two to do a workout with me and we go grab sweaty drinks together afterward.

For me, weekends are sacred. They’re all about enjoying not being inside, so I don’t make myself run on a treadmill, do a spin class or eat kale. Instead I’ll take Ziggy for a run and stop to grab lunch halfway through, do a yoga class before binging on brunch, or, like this past weekend, go on an epic hike with my girls in Tahoe and simply bring the bevvies along for the ride (hey, the extra lbs in the backpack = weight training).

I’ve done enough cleanses and gone on enough party tears that I know the pendulum doesn’t swing to one side for too long before launching back to the other side. Striking a balance is my way of getting ahead of it. I’ve never been one to turn down a good time, but who says you can’t be healthy AND fun? CHEERS to balance, my friends.

How are you reaching your fitness AND good time goals? Am I the only one who struggles with this?

If you’re looking for new ways to shake up your fitness routines, Michelob ULTRA is throwing the 95K Sweepstakes where they’re giving away 95,000 fitness experiences. Check out the details and enter here.

Galentine’s Day

February 9, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Happy Galentine’s Day, you poetic noble land mermaids!

In honor of the quintessential best friend, Leslie Knope, my roommates and I decided to throw a Galentine’s Day brunch at our apartment. It was the ultimate celebration of female friendship (and no, we did not hate on Valentine’s Day, we had some taken ladies there, but we did have productive discussions about how to best get out of Bumble dates we no longer cared to go on after a mimosa or four).

We provided giant pans of strata, homemade waffles (obviously) and Costco (JUMBO) sized bubbly while our beautiful friends brought everything from sour gummy hearts and vegan doughnuts to salami and crackers. I considered creating scrapbooks commemorating every moment of each of our friendships, but realized that I have to sleep a lot more than our beloved (fictional) Leslie.

We had so much fun eating, drinking, laughing, and singing along to this playlist while the rest of the world fussed about some football game on TV and some baby (who has no chance of looking anything like her mom) being born. It was an amazing time, and I highly recommend having your own Galentine’s Day celebration.

This was my first official Galentine’s Day, but actually, my sister and I made February 14 about sister time, wine, and candy long before I ever watched Parks and Rec. Boys have come and gone from my life (if you’ve been reading for a while, you may think that’s an understatement–ha!) but regardless of my relationship status, I LOVE love. As cheesy as it may be.

I love watching rom coms, I love writing cards, I love sending flowers and I love making the people who make my life better feel loved. And of course I love falling in love, but for me, v-day isn’t about romance. Some years I’m more bitter about it than others, but for the most part I’ve never felt sad about this weird day that seems to divide the population (except for maybe my first one in California when I couldn’t hang out on the couch with my sister giggling at “She’s the Man” and didn’t yet have a squad of badass gals to spend it with. Even then my parents sent me flowers–my family is the best).

So if there’s a day next week that feels triggering to you, I suggest inviting some gals (and/or guys) over to drink champagne and laugh at all the losers in crowded AF restaurants choking on engagement rings in their champagne flutes.

Be sure to put on this playlist while you do it, and remember that you are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox. Happy Galentine’s Day!

#OTNTravels: Hanoi

February 8, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

You guys! I haven’t powered on my personal laptop in, like, months. My bad. I’ve been talking about my trip to Vietnam with anyone who will listen and yet here we are, MONTHS later (+ a couple more adventures under my belt) and I haven’t given OTN a single update.

The most important thing is I FREAKIN’ SURVIVED all alone in a foreign country where I don’t speak a single word of the native language. The second most important thing is IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I have lots of thoughts about solo travel, tips to pass on and lessons learned to reflect on, and I’ll hopefully get to them later, but for now I just want to travel log this shit because I never want to forget the details of this trip. Luckily I’m a big ol’ dork, and I took notes full-on diary style every day I was there, so let’s do this. Here’s what went down in Hanoi for the first two days of my trip.

Day 1:

After a very long flight from San Francisco to Taiwan, seated between a married couple, who chose to let me sit between them for 12 hours rather than give up the coveted aisle and window seats, I hopped on a connecting flight to Hanoi. My taxi dropped me off at my cute little boutique hotel called the Golden Moon Hotel (a friend of mine recommended it to me, and it did not disappoint). I arrived around 10:30am, but I couldn’t check into my hotel until 2pm, so my sleep-deprived zombie body was forced into the bustling city sooner that it was prepared for. Not only had my feet swollen to, like, three times their normal size, but I bought new sneaks for the occasion that obviously were going to give me blisters. The first thing I did was try the famous egg coffee at Giang coffee just a couple blocks from the hotel. It’s this delicious sweet and creamy egg white concoction you mix into the highly caffeinated coffee. I was pretty nervous after trying it knowing that I wouldn’t be able to explain that I was lactose intolerant to anyone, but surprisingly my stomach behaved (more on that later).

After egg coffee, I had no idea what to do. I wasn’t hungry yet, I was so tired, and WAY too overwhelmed by the kazillion motorbikes that don’t stop for pedestrians to actually find touristy stuff to do, so I ducked into another coffee shop to hide until I could check into my hotel. Not my proudest moment, but just tryna keep it real. This was my first time out of the country since I was 15, and it was starting to feel like a lot. This coffee shop was called Analog and it totally could’ve been a hipster coffee shop in the Bay Area, except no one in there understood me at all and the WiFi wouldn’t work. Classic. So I ordered iced coffee (by pointing at the menu, pretty much all of which surprisingly had English translations on them) and read in that dark little shop until I could check into my hotel. It was all young women working there, and one of the servers kept bringing giant balloons to this girl lying in a booth. I thought maybe they were planning a party until I realized that Nitrous Oxide balloons are totally a thing. lolz.

After getting into my hotel with this adorable view and rose petals on my bed, I showered, took a nap, and got ready try to see the city again. This time, the amazing folks at the front desk of my hotel pointed me in the direction of a sit down restaurant because I wasn’t mentally prepared to sit on the sidewalk for street food just yet. The restaurant was called Redbean, and while it was clearly made for tourists, I was so happy to enjoy a six course meal with a variety of local dishes that only ended up costing me about ten US dollars. #blessed Afterwards, I walked around a bit, but I was still terrified of crossing the street, so I decided to give myself a break, go back to the hotel, and be braver the next day.

DAY 2:

I woke up early and was determined to make the most of my day. I took a screenshot of Google Maps directions to the lake in the center of town, and figured I’d follow the front desk folks’ advice on where to get breakfast. Of course I got lost immediately and never did find that elusive breakfast spot, but as I moseyed down streets that changed names every few feet, I began to feel the hanger rising. It doesn’t take much to make me start questioning every life decision when I’m hangry, and as I was dodging motorbikes from every direction and not any closer to the lake (or so I thought) than I was when I first left the hotel, I decided I could have an anxiety attack or I could just walk down a slower street to find food. I went with the latter, which brought me to a cozy little restaurant where a sweet old lady sat reading the newspaper to another sweet old lady.

I pointed to a photo of soup and she brought me some. I still have no idea what the protein was, but I was so grateful in that moment for food, for the patience of this lady, and for the young boy who understood me saying “WiFi” and typed the password into my phone for me. I enjoyed every last drop of that soup and at some point the lady brought me hot tea because she (and all the other locals on that mid-60-degree day) was “lạnh.” She thought I must be freezing in my little windbreaker, and the simple gesture of handing me warm tea even though I couldn’t properly thank her touched my heart. With my newfound wifi access, I was able to access my translator to tell her how delicious the soup was and ask how much the food was (she found the translation to be hilarious, so who knows what I actually said). This was definitely a turning point–just one more example of food and human kindness completely changing my attitude about life.

From there I figured out how to download Google Maps to access it offline (what a newb I was) and found my way to the lake. I walked around, bought some souvenirs and found my way back to the hotel to start my motorbike food and city tour with Alice (I booked it through the hotel that morning). I spent the next four+ hours exploring Hanoi with this sweet tourguide–don’t worry, she drove the motorbike, I just rode on the back. It was pretty terrifying being in that chaotic traffic, but she got us everywhere safe and sound. We saw the Opera House, Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, West Lake, and several temples. Alice spoke English very well and by the end of the tour we were taking selfies together and gossiping about boys. It was pretty great. I’m so glad I booked this tour especially since I was still so shy about crossing the street at this point.

We ended the tour eating at her favorite street food spot, which I unfortunately can’t remember the name of. We sat on the tiniest plastic stools and I was served bun cha–grilled fatty pork with vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs and lettuce, plus fresh garlic and chilies to top it with. Omg, guys. It was incredible. I was in street food heaven. THEN she took me to get dessert. I was pretty jet-lagged and convinced that I’d be going straight back to the hotel afterward, so when they brought out fresh fruit with crushed ice and what I could only assume was sweetened condensed milk on top, I decided to go for it without asking questions (kind of like with that egg coffee from day one). I hugged Alice goodbye and went back to my hotel room expecting my lactose intolerant stomach to explode at any moment and was, once again, surprised to discover that I was… fine.

It was crazy, but I was still too tired to venture out again, so I chilled out and turned on the TV. To my delight I found a station dedicated to American pop music videos from the early to mid 2000s with hardly any commercials. The coffee shop next door was poppin’ with club music, but I drifted off to sleep with the lovely sounds of Pitbull echoing in my head.

TBC: Day 3 and 4 in Ha Long Bay coming soon…

A Unique Wooden Watch for Your Galentine

January 18, 2018 by mackensieg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Happy 2018, friends! How do you feel about new year’s resolutions? I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m all about setting goals and dedicating the beginning of the year to self-reflection and self-improvement is a great habit. On the other hand, I swore I’d see my abs in 2017 (HA!). And as for the other things I wanted to accomplish in 2017… I can’t remember what they were. And therein lies the problem. They probably had to do with reading more (I did), traveling more (oh hey, I still have to tell you guys about Vietnam), and getting in shape.

So, I’ve been mulling this over lately and I realized that a lot of the resolving to do more or less of things for me doesn’t necessarily happen in January. It happens whenever I realize there’s a need for it. Without much documenting or conscious decision-making, I resolved to be more present. It’s resulted in far fewer Instagram posts, obviously fewer blog posts, and a lot more connecting with humans. I rely on my phone daily for entertainment, news, weather forecasts, directions (I seriously couldn’t function without Google maps), and, of course, the time. It’s my security blanket when I don’t know what to do with my hands or eyes, and while sometimes it’s a welcome distraction, other times it’s a crutch. It was time to put it down, so for the past few months I’ve left my phone in my backpack or at home on hikes, at concerts, and walks with Zig.

It’s been great stopping to smell the flowers and all, but I realized that not knowing the time = anxiety, aka the opposite of the desired effect. I haven’t worn a wrist watch (or many accessories in general…) in years, so when JORD asked if I’d like to try one of their gorgeous wooden watches and give you guys a chance to win $100 toward your own, I was psyched. I love the beautiful, hand-carved details and the wood grain makes a great neutral that goes with lots of patterns, textures and colors. I chose the Frankie Series in Zebrawood and Champagne because of its minimalist design and elegant color scheme. But there are tons of styles to choose from, including men’s styles in case you’re looking to gift one for Valentine’s Day–this single lady, however, will be celebrating Galentine’s Day only this year.