Sharing an updated skincare and makeup routine that’s perfect for beginners.

Hey friends! How’s the day going? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. P had a soccer game, I taught a barre class, we watched a movie and roasted a chicken, and met up with the fam for dinner. Today, I’m spending the morning studying for IHP (I’m more than halfway through Level Two!) and taking a hot yoga class.

For today’s post, I wanted to share my most recent skincare and makeup routine. I’ve had some recent requests and I feel like I’ve found a groove with products and so many of these have been faves for the past few years. It’s funny because I went to write this post thinking that I’m a major minimalist, but after writing everything down, it feels like a lot of products! So while I use a lot of *stuff*, everything has a purpose, and my routine is SPEEDY. It has to be with juggling kids’ pickup/dropoffs/activities/work/life. I also try to pick products that have safer ingredients with decent EWG ratings.

Here’s what it looks like right now! It changes and evolves over time with new products I find or like, but these are a lot of my tried and true faves.

5-minute skincare, 5-minute makeup routine

Daily 5-minute skincare

Nightly:

Makeup eraser. This little thing is a true wonder. It works SO well and helps remove a majority of makeup, including eye makeup.

Blueberry bounce cleanser. My skin is super sensitive and this is one of the few I can use on my entire face (even around my eyes) without irritation.

Toner. This toner is brightening without being drying. I also will use this one once or twice a week.

Serum. I switch out serums fairly often and this is my latest fave for bedtime, and this is my favorite morning serum.

Moisturizer. I’ll also swap out daily moisturizers and will typically rotate between Eminence and Beautycounter Supreme Cream.

Sharing the top reader favorites that I’ve recommended here on the blog in 2022! 

Hi hi! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We spent the weekend celebrating Liv’s birthday! I’ll share some more pics in Friday Faves but we had an awesome dinner with her friends, saw Annie yesterday with my mom and nana, and the family came over for dinner. I hope you had a lovely weekend, too!

For today’s post, I wanted to share the reader faves from 2022! It’s always fun to look back on my analytics and see what your favorite finds were from the blog. Y’all have good taste, I tell ya. 😉

Here are the top picks from last year!

Top 10 reader purchases of 2022

1. HigherDOSE Sauna Blanket

The best sauna blanket in the land reigns supreme. I got this little beauty a couple of years ago (and upgraded to the newest version), and it’s still something I really look forward to in my routine. Since it’s been colder outside, I find myself craving the warmth and sweat. I always use it 2-3 times per week, and lately it’s been every couple of days. When I use my sauna blanket, it opens up my detox pathways (I sweat WAY more than I do during most workouts), I notice an improvement in my skin, and I sleep like a rock.

I’m so so happy so many of you are enjoying this one, too! If you decided to order one for yourself, use FITNESSISTA15 to get 15% sitewide.

2. Sakara meals

This is another thing that makes my heart happy that you all enjoy it, too! I look forward to these meals EVERY month. They’re a little treat and I gift myself some beautiful eats and some convenience. I book them during my busiest weeks, and it feels like the truest form of self care to eat a nutritious meal I didn’t have to make myself. A lot of friends have ordered Sakara meals just for lunch, as it can be one of the hardest meals to get in during a busy day. Check out all of the amazing options here and use XOGINAH for 20% off!

3. The tee shirt dress

Love this cute and casual Rails dress. It’s perfect with low-top sneakers and a baseball cap.

4. These golden goose sneakers

I was debating on these sneakers before I bought my other recent pairs of GG and they’re the perfect neutral.

5. The best egg chair!

I got this egg chair for our balcony for a steal and so pumped that many of you snagged it up, too.

6. These heeled sandals

These were so inexpensive but the quality is excellent. I hope they’re still in style this spring because I still plan on wearing them.

7. The jeans I wear constantly

This is when I dubiously accepted the fact that skinny jeans are no longer for the cool kids. This was my compromise. They’re still fitted enough to be flattering, but looser on the bottom to be more on trend.

8. This cozy cardigan

I’m wearing this cardigan while I type this blo

Hellooooo. Happy Friday! How are you? I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far! The kids headed back to school this week and as much I want to say YAY I finally got work done and we’re back in a routine, nope. I missed them like crazy and I hate waking up early, so there ya go.

We did go out with a bang and had a wild card girls’ day on our last day of winter break. I took pieces of paper and wrote options on them for the day and the girls picked randomly from each set. (I saw the idea go around TikTok a while back and thought they’d like it!)

They ended up picking eegee’s for lunch, Round 1 (a huge arcade), Starbucks, Mildred & Dildred (the best local toy store) and a board game (we played Zingo and Old Maid). P told me I was a fun mom. *cry emoji*

This weekend is Liv’s birthday (11! HOW?!), Annie with the family, and getting ready for a lil trip we’re taking next week. I’d love to hear what you have going on this weekend!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Read, watch, listen:

What’s the most helpful thing a therapist ever told you?

Matilda

We’ve all been waiting anxiously for Matilda’s release on Netflix and while I expected it to be good, I did not expect it to be that good. The music is epic (“Revolting Children” is on repeat and P has memorized 90% of the dance moves), and the storyline is amazing. Expect a tiny bit of crass language and bullying, but it had an overwhelming message of bravery, positivity, and the power of love/kindness.

Wednesday

Liv had been wanting to watch Wednesday since her friends have seen it, so after doing a bit of research (and determined no major adult themes, just scariness), I figured we could watch it together. We both loved it! It was intense,

Sharing my top picks for the best hiking trails in Tucson. 

Hi hi! Happy Christmas week and hope that you all are having a lovely morning. We had a great weekend. It was Elf night with friends, we decorated gingerbread houses, and I taught a barre class. We’re headed on a little staycation later this week, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

For today’s post, I wanted to share some of my favorite hiking trails in Tucson! We are in the middle of hiking season (I think the best weather is from late October until early May), and my top trails have been packed with locals and tourists, enjoying the gorgeous Tucson scenery. I’ve been a fan of hiking for many years, but really fell more in love with it over the past few years, because it was one of the only things we could do. We used the opportunity to explore some of our favorite trails, we visited Sedona a few times as a family, and the kids fell in love with hiking, too.

It’s become one of our favorite family adventures.

I wanted to post some of the best Tucson hiking trails, plus some of my tips for hiking with kids.

Best hiking trails in Tucson

Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon is the destination, but within Sabino Canyon, there are tons of trails. If you are a newbie or it’s your first time in Tucson, you can stay on the main tram road, which is about 7.3 miles out and back. It’s paved and heavily-populated. Within the canyon, you can use All Trails to discover so many different trails depending on length and your hiking level. If you want something more rustic but still populated, you can do the Bear Canyon trail.

For longer/sportier hikes, try Phoneline, Blackett’s, and Seven Falls (pack a lunch and lots of water for this one).

If you have kids with you, I highly recommend Bear Canyon to Sabino Dam. It’s short and there a ton of water for the kids (and adults) to wade and play.

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Sharing my thoughts on what fitness gear is worth the hype, and worth the investment, and what I think is overrated and should be skipped. 

Helloooooo! How are ya? I hope you’re enjoying the week. Thank you so much to those of you who have entered the giveaway and answered my yearly survey – I appreciate your help so much.

We’re in the middle of the December sprint – so many events and fun parties – but I’m popping in to chat about fitness gear. I feel like so many people are getting a head start on things this year, especially with New Years’ goals and prep. Group fitness classes are already bumping, and my fellow trainer friends said they’re also getting booked quickly for January and February. (I have 3 coaching spots left for Jan. If you’re looking for 1:1 nutrition coaching or fitness programming, you can apply here.)

Since many of us are prepping home gyms, scoping out fitness gear, wellness goodies, and nutrition options, I thought I’d do a roundup of some of my top picks. There are a LOT of things to choose from and it can get overwhelming! Also, I’ve found that some hyped-up options have been disappointing in real life. I’m sharing my picks in the list below, and also sharing your submissions from Instagram. (Ones with a * are from Instagram responses.)

Worth the hype:

Peloton

I’ve had my Peloton for about 4 years now, and love it just as much as I did when I first got it. The bike is high-quality and I always enjoy the classes. You can check out my full review here!

Oura ring

The Oura ring is the same thing; it still brings me as much joy as I did when I purchased it. My only gripe now is that the battery life seems to work for less time and I have to charge it more frequently, but it seems to happen with most electronics after a couple of years. My full review is here. 

Apple watch

The Apple watch is another thing I wear every day and love it. It does encourage me to move more throughout the day, even though sometimes I think it encourages overtraining. For example, my Oura ring will tell me I need a rest and my Apple Watch tells me to crush my next workout. I do think it’s very handy and w