This week in Live Well Darlings Land we explored my shopping rules, the very same ones I went antiquing with. I could have easily spent hundreds, I found so many amazing things but on this trip, the things that immediately sparked joy was gold fan I found hidden behind a bed frame, and the pillar candle holder. Time will tell if anything I left behind nags at me and I’m forced to run back and go get it…

In addition to my antiquing adventures, I went to a new to me restaurant and it was absolutely amazing. Modesto’s in Baton Rouge was incredible and I enjoyed every minute. The elote corn was probably the best I’ve ever had, the tacos were rich and flavorful, and to WARSH it down, I had a frozen prickly pear margarita. Actively working on an excuse to get me back there.

If that wasn’t enough, the new Barbie movie came out and best thing I could think to do to celebrate was to get me some fake nails to try out for the first time. It’s still fresh and the jury’s still out on how successful I’ll be this week with them but I have the highest of hopes.

You’ll notice I made a big effort to take more pictures for my gallery this week. I took pictures of my food at a restaurant which felt pretty influencery. I also thought to throw in a portrait of my sweaty self running just to keep things spicy.

In other personal news I’ve been trying to get back into my running. I’ve really missed it. The hardest thing is being gentle with myself and not comparing where I was to where I am now. I just want to dive right back in and it’s hard to not focus on speed or mileage. Also, I would really rather not get injured so slow and steady it is.

We are halfway through the year and I’m nearly 3 months into my little internet adventure. It is interesting how the brain shifts “experiences” into “content”. I so desperately want to strike the right balance between enjoying myself, having fun, and being in the moment, while also creating (hopefully) entertaining content for an audience. I’m also making a concerted effort not to compare myself to anyone. You can’t compare yourself to people who are 1, 3, 5, 10 years ahead of you and for me right now, that is literally everyone. I’m a little baby creator. I am just barely figuring things out so why bother being bothered by where everyone else is at. It also keeps me sane because if I paid any real attention to how great a job everyone else is doing, I probably wouldn’t bother getting out of bed for this. So my grand plan is to just keep my head down, stay in my lane, and see if I can make my friends and family laugh. Everyone else is just a bonus.