The Smile Tag: I’m Happiest When…

Throwback moment for a minute. Do you remember Myspace survey tags? You’d do the survey yourself, and then tag a few friends to do it too. Since so many different people would complete the same survey, the tag would go viral. I guess you could consider it an early form of blogging. I was obsessed. I loved sharing my own answers, but enjoyed reading other people’s answers just as much.

I was so excited when my friend Kasia from the blog Ampersand brought the tag posts back and tagged me in one called The Smile Tag. Basically, you have to finish the sentence, “I’m the happiest when…”

Let’s get right into it! 

I’m Happiest When I’m With my Squad

Ugh – “squad.” God, I hate that word, but I had to. I am pretty damn happy when I’m with the people I care about most – my family {Pete included!} and friends. First, let’s talk about family. Bryan and Pete are my main peeps. Nothing is better than going for long walks on Sundays with Bryan and Pete. I recently made the rule that neither one of us can be on our phones while walking. I love that it gives us a chance to chat without scrolling through Instagram or playing Clash of Clans and half listening {I’ll let you figure out which one of us is doing which activity}. 

Aside from Bryan and Pete, I’ve never been super close with my family. Obviously I love my family to death, but for years I would cringe at the thought of spending more than an hour with them. My sister and I fought like crazy, and my dad and I never had much in common. Thankfully, we’ve gotten much closer in the past 3-4 years. Now, I call my sister at least once a week to chat {usually when I’m wandering around Target}, and with my dad… I’ve found topics that we both love to talk about {TV and movies we’ve recently seen}. I’ve learned that you’ve just got to figure out what makes your family click and run with it. 

Now on to friends. I’m insanely picky with who I decide to be friends with, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t like having a bunch of negativity in my life, been there, done that, so I keep only the best people in my circle. My friends and I can be 100% ourselves around each other and that’s amazing. There’s no cattiness, drama, or competition. My fav thing is getting all my friends together and spending a weekend away – lots of wine included {remember Bryan’s birthday getaway?}. 

I’m Happiest When I’m Practicing Yoga

I took my first yoga class in college and have been hooked ever since. I’ve been practicing on and off, but very regularly since January. I aim to go at least 2-3x a week, and my friend Bridgett holds me accountable. I usually take a gentle class, a slow flow class, and a traditional vinyasa class. This the the perfect combination for me. It reduces the risk of injury, allows my body to restore itself, and also keeps me from getting bored.  

When I’m not practicing yoga, I’m a complete mess mentally, physically and emotionally. Yoga keeps me grounded and puts me in a better mood almost immediately. In fact… anytime I’m stressed out and feel like canceling yoga, Bryan always forces me to go because he knows that I desperately need it and will feel much better afterwards.  

Yoga is my workout of choice because I can practice it anywhere. When I’m not taking classes in the studio, I try my best to continue the practice at home. YouTube has some of the best workouts. My two favorites are SaraBeth Yoga and Yoga with Adriene. They both offer a variety of types of yoga videos, including videos that target specific body parts {i.e. shoulders after a long week of hunching over at my computer}.  If you’re into yoga, I highly recommend you check out their channels. 

I’m Happiest When I’m Blogging

Although blogging can definitely be stressful at times, I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t have been doing it for 8 years if I hated it, you know? I blog because it gives me an outlet to express myself, to create valuable content to a community of amazing women {and a few guys}, and to partner with brands I absolutely adore. I promise you this – it never feels like a chore to blog, and when it does, that’s when I’ll stop. 

Blogging has taught me so many different things {I highlighted 4 lessons in this post}. One thing in particular … blogging has taught me to never settle and to keep striving for more.I’m constantly thinking about how I can improve my site! There’s so many conceited bloggers who think they rule the world. Maybe they have a ton of followers, maybe they blog full-time, maybe they partner with the biggest brands in the industry. I don’t really care. I think it’s SO important to be humble and keep pushing myself to be better. 

I’m Happiest When I’m in San Diego

I’ve been to San Diego three times (2007, 2008 and 2015), and it’s not enough. If I could, I’d go back every single year. It’s my happy place. I love the people, the weather, the activities, the beach, and all the healthy food! It’s great to be in an environment that is health-conscious and has options for vegetarians. Although I live close to a large city, there’s not that many great restaurants in the suburbs that cater to vegans or vegetarians. San Diego? They’ve got them everywhere. 

San Diego is great too because it’s so close to a lot of other destinations. When I visited California in 2015, Bryan and I took a ferry with my cousin to Catalina Island, which is off the coast of Long Beach. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re going to southern California. The island has a lot of cool shops, bars and restaurants. Although I didn’t get a chance to do this while I was there, apparently you can take golf carts around the island and see roaming bison!

San Diego and California in general is amazing. I’m already leaving hints for Bryan to book us another trip. {BRYAN, ARE YOU READING THIS POST?!}

// That’s it! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post. Next, I tag Jess, Amber & Emily/Ashley!