Happy Friday AND last day of July! I’m sad that my birthday month is almost over, but hopefully it means we’re closer to being able to return to a more “normal” life without the threat of a global pandemic hanging over us.
One thing I don’t want to return to normal is work. I’ve been loving the WFH life since April and the thought of going back to an office (especially now, when coronavirus cases are so high) makes me nervous. I know some jobs are impossible to do at home but mine is not and it’s been so great to not have to commute 2 hours every weekday! I’m hoping that WFH will continue to be a thing for at least the rest of the year, and I know that it will be a priority for me when I look for my next job.
Since I skipped Friday Five last week, I’m sharing some of my birthday week favs in this week’s post!
1) Cinnaholic Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Who needs cake for their birthday when there are cinnamon rolls? Vegan ones, to be exact!
Cinnaholic opened up its first Arizona location last July, and it happens to be about 10 minutes away from me! I actually waited in line for 3 hours last summer on opening day to get a $1 cinnamon roll (totally worth it, despite the heat) but haven’t been back since, even though it’s so close.
My mom surprised me with two cinnamon rolls for my birthday dessert that I shared with the fam — one with strawberries and the other with Oreos. Both were delicious but I’m partial to the Oreos one.
2) Nathan Vaporswiftra Hydration Vest
I have a review of this hydration vest coming soon, but I really love it so far! I got a second vest (as a birthday present to myself) because my Osprey one doesn’t have as much room for water, which is a necessity on long, hot trail runs.
The Nathan vest comes with a 50 oz reservoir, and the big pockets up front can each hold 20 oz soft flasks, so that means I won’t run out of water or have to stop back at my car if I’m running for 2+ hours. Plus, it’s purple! 💜
3) Fitbit Versa Lite
Another birthday present to myself! I’ve owned a couple Fitbit trackers — first the Zip, that I got as a welcome gift at my first job in 2014 (then I bought a replacement Zip in 2016-ish that I still have!), then the Inspire HR I got last year and I finally upgraded to an actual watch, the Versa Lite.
I got it because it was on sale for $99, which is a steal for a smart watch. I really just wanted something with a bigger and brighter display than my Inspire HR, which is nearly impossible to read in the sun, so I could check my HR and stats during my runs. The Versa Lite has a very readable display and sooooo many more features, like the weather, and it shows all my daily stats (like sleep, steps, exercise, etc) right on the watch, instead of me having to go into the app.
It also has music controls, which is something I didn’t think I’d use but I actually have, since my wireless earbuds stopped working, and I had to play my music over my phone’s speakers on some of my recent trail runs. I was able to adjust the volume and pause and skip songs right from my wrist which was very convenient.
4) Tiki Bar Birthday Surprise
As I’ve mentioned, I was supposed to be in San Diego for my birthday weekend but because that couldn’t happen, my fam still wanted to make my day special. So they surprised me with a tiki bar in the kitchen!
It reminded me of the beachside bar we enjoyed drinks at last summer in SD and it was cool to see the kitchen decked out in tiki decor. We also celebrated with a cocktail contest, in which my parents and sister each mixed up a different cocktail and I had to pick a winner. My sister’s spicy salty dog drink won, but they were all tasty 😋
5) Sephora Rewards Bazaar
I’ve been saving up my Sephora points forever and always wanted to spend them on the full-size rewards that they offer for 1500+ points, but they always sold out before I could redeem them.
When I placed my recent order (mostly to get my birthday gift set), I was finally able to score a big ticket item from the Rewards Bazaar! It’s a Glow Recipe set with a cute hoodie, hat and a skin care journal.
I’ve worn the hat so far on a couple runs and I’ll be living in the hoodie this winter. The journal is also really cute and I’ll be documenting my skin care regime in it!
Do you “treat yo’self” for your birthday? Fitbit, Apple Watch or Garmin? I can’t see myself spending $300+ on a smart watch, so it’s Fitbit all the way for me!
The Quarter Life Crisis 