Friday Favorites: Week of 11/27

Hi friends! It’s been a bit since we’ve chatted here on the blog, and I’m really looking forward to catching up now we’re adjusting back to life in NYC. How have you been?

Since the last post, Scott, Skyler and I took a family road trip to see Scott’s family in Missouri. It was a 19-hour drive (before stops and breaks) each way, so the event took up the majority of my time and energy over the last week. I’m sharing a few highlights along with tips about traveling cross-country with a toddler below, and I’m so glad to be back today.

I’ve missed you!

Our little family of arrived back home in Brooklyn early yesterday morning, and we took the day (Thanksgiving!) to rest, unpack, and and had a very casual holiday dinner in our pajamas. It was actually perfect.

This Friday Favorites is being published later than normal today, since the three of us went to our local CityMD for COVID-19 rapid tests this morning to afternoon. None of us are experiencing any symptoms, but we want to be smart and follow protocols for ourselves and everyone around us upon our return home. Good news, all three of us are clear!

And the process was a lot easier to do than you might expect. I strongly encourage you test if you have even a hint of possibly being exposed. It was free for all of us to test (even rapid test!) here in Brooklyn, and the line to do so moved pretty quickly.

But enough about that. Today’s faves are all about our trip along with some clean beauty news because it’s the biggest sale of the year and I’m offering even more goodies than ever.

Thanks for reading today!

FRIDAY FAVORITES: WEEK OF 11/27

• unplugging in the country

One of the best things about leaving the city and heading to a much more rural area is an excuse to unplug and tap into the “slower service” life. There were several legs of our trip where my phone didn’t work, and it wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Living in a big city automatically sets my mind to a go-go-go type of lifestyle, so it’s a nice reminder to take some deep breaths and enjoy the sights outside of a screen from time to time.

We had plenty of that time in the car, but even more of it where we were staying at Scott’s parents’ house. They live in a very secluded area in a small town in Missouri, so we felt very safe being with them and exploring around the area a bit.

Skyler had a blast being on the farm, and he loved feeding the chickens, saying hello to the bees, and playing with the kittens in the barn. Roadie had so much fun in the fresh air, too!

We kept things pretty low-key this time around, and stayed on the farm for the majority of our visit. It was so great to see Scott’s family, and even better to see them get to spend some long overdue quality time with Skyler.

We love you all and can’t wait for the next adventure out there.

• Silver Dollar City (very cautiously)

After debating on this activity for several days, we decided to join Scott’s sister and her family for a day-trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson last weekend. Our initial “heck no” (due to exposure) turned into a “maybe” and then a “let’s do it” when we read about all of the protocols and restrictions in place.

It was limited capacity entry, so while tens of thousands are normally invited to be there at once, the park is currently capped out at 2,800 per day. Everything except small shops were outside, and … here’s the kicker … it was raining almost the entire time we were there.

So, while the conditions weren’t ideal, it was almost the best case scenario for attending since the crowds were very minimal. Masks were required at all times (we only removed ours to eat/drink away from others and for very quick photo opps), and extra measures like spacing stickers, one-way signs, hand sanitizing stations, and even a plexiglass window between us and Santa were in tow. We felt safe, and even more so than in other stops on our visit.

We got the idea to go to the theme park to honor one of Scott’s favorite childhood memories. Back in the day, both of his parents worked for the Silver Dollar City, and he spent many holiday seasons visiting the park and looked forward to seeing the Christmas lights year after year. It was a nostalgic visit for him.

We arrived in the late afternoon with a goal to hang out for a bit, but mostly to catch the views of the lights after the sunset. They were breathtaking!

A lot of the shows, entertainment, and restaurants were closed (rightfully so), but our stroll through the park still proved to be worth it. I’d recommend you give it a go if you’re nearby, but only if you’re serious about protocols and regulations. That’s the key!

• trips for taking a road trip with a toddler

I received a lot of messages throughout our multi-day drive asking how Skyler was doing in the car. The truth is, he did incredible and way better than we thought he would.

Like all of us, he had his moments of being completely over it with a few meltdowns, but overall, he was a champ. We weren’t sure what to expect going into it, so here’s a recap of what went really well to make the hours and trip go by as quick and as pain-free as possible with a little one:

• try to stop about every two hours – even if we didn’t really need gas or food, we made a point to stop, stretch our legs and get fresh air about every two hours. This was the sweet spot for us to gain momentum on our trip, but also avoid burn out.
• pack healthy and exciting snacks – I packed a bag full of snacks before we left, and made sure to include a good mix of healthy items like fresh fruit, nut mixes, and granola bars, as well as a few items from the treat category like candy, fruit snacks, and juice boxes to excite Skyler when I needed to. (I can share more of my on-the-go healthy road trip snacks and hacks in another blog post soon if this interests you!)
• try to stick to their schedule as much as possible – you can only do so much at times, but we did go out of the way to try to keep his times for meals, snacks, naps, and bedtime consistent with what he would be doing at home. It worked pretty well while we were driving, but the time we spent out and about is another story. The boy skipped and refused naps for about five days! It was wild.
• have activities accessible – we made sure to pack plenty of toys, coloring books, books, and things to keep him busy in the car. He did really well for while with a few coloring activity books (the small ones that are only a few pages), and sticker clings that he could play with and put on the windows. We also played some of his favorite songs on the car speakers when we needed to mix things up.
• keep them comfortable – take their shoes off, grab a blanket, a stuffed animal, and dress them in cozy clothes. It’s also a good idea to keep a change of clothes (or two) nearby, in case you need them. Sometimes a fresh change can change my mood, so I apply this with Skyler as well.
• be okay with more screen time than usual – we got about halfway through our two-day drive down when we pulled out the big guns … a new kids edition tablet. We wanted “Santa” to give this to him for Christmas this year, but decided to be okay with using it if we needed to. Well, after a full day of being on the road, Skyler hit a point of not wanting to get in the car anymore, and I don’t really blame him. We promised him a big surprise after a stop and his face LIT UP when we showed him that he had a tablet of his own to play educational games and watch movies on. Scott and I swore that we would never be the parents to gift our kids a screen until they’re older, but man, road tripping is no joke. You are in survival mode, and if there is something that makes the experience a little more enjoyable for everyone involved, we see that as a bigger win than holding out.

Do you have any more questions on this subject? Feel free to drop them in the comments or reach out to me directly!

• Major Clean Friday DEALS & Another GIVEAWAY

Beautycounter’s biggest sale of the year is happening right now, so I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t highlight what you need to know here as well as where you would hear all of the news first, my Life In Leggings – Beautycounter page.

In the spirit of Black (CLEAN) Friday, I’m offering more deals to you ON TOP of the current promos from Beautycounter!⁣⁣ So if you’ve been thinking about gifting clean this season or starting to switch over to safer products, the deals really don’t get better than this …

Anyone who purchases today through Monday 11/30 will get:

⁣⁣- 15% off site-wide! (excluding sets)⁣

– free shipping on orders $50+⁣

– an entry to win a free full-sized product

⁣- $10 off your order (a gift from me to you!⁣⁣)

To enter the giveaway to win one full-sized product, simply  by 11/30 11:59 EST, and message me directly (heather@lifeinleggings.com) to redeem the $10 off your order.

Also, there’s another exciting opportunity for us to chat more about the business side of Beautycounter with two of my very good friends and team members, Gina and Ashley. We are going to be doing an informal IGTV Live Chat sharing more about how we fell into being consultants and answer questions in real time this coming Tuesday.

If you’ve ever wondered what saying “yes” to being a clean beauty advocate looks like and would like to know more about the discount, the numbers, or anything about the business side, this chat is for you.

Please let me know if you’re interested in joining! You can also choose to tune in by following me on Instagram and clicking over to my page on Tuesday, December 1st at 8pm EST.

As always, I am here to answer any questions you may have about the products, the brand, how to get the most out of your purchases, or anything at all!

• favorite LIL posts

» How To Easily Add More Movement Into Your Day

Now that we are past the eighth month mark of staying indoors for the majority of the day due to the pandemic, it’s important to make sure that we are still getting a good amount of activity in. That’s exactly what this post is all about, and I hope that it inspires you to add in a little more movement into your routine if you think you might need it!

» Holiday Cocoa Reindeer Chow

Okay, I’m officially on holiday mode now. Here’s one of my favorite treats/small treat gift to others hot cocoa-fied with extra hints of cocoa chocolate, cocoa powder and marshmallows. It’s a crowd pleaser I’ve made time and time again!

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Okay, it’s time for me to sign off and get back to making sense of our apartment after de-loading from our trip. I hope you have a great weekend ahead, and make some time to treat yourself … whether it’s with some self-care, some online shopping, or unplugging and watching a holiday movie.

Thanks again for checking in today!

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*Disclaimer: Friday Favorites posts may contain affiliate links. Also, I am a Beautycounter consultant and love what I do with the company. By using the links provided in this post to order products, you are supporting my business. I always appreciate you!