2024: in/out & more

Happy three weeks in to 2024, my friends & fam! Did I purposefully wait to talk about these goals, ins and outs? Maybe a little. But mostly I’ve just been easing in to this year in all the most intentional ways. And honestly, it’s been such a nice start to the year, I feel like it was a valuable life lesson for me to give myself some grace and time to ease in to the routines and habits I’m hoping to maintain through out the year.

With that being said, my ins and outs of the year were fairly simple and sort of coincide with the goals I’ve set for myself to work on for the next 12 months. If you’re interested in that type of thing, or just totally nosy like me, feel free to keep on reading…

In —

• budgeting

• cooking at home

• wardrobe updates

• journaling

• walks with my boyfriend

• traveling more

• date nights

• facials/haircuts/nails

• evening cocktails at home

• a solid skincare routine

• reading

• blogging

• traditions with friends and family

• better sleep habits

• daily gratitude practices

• volunteering

• drinking water

• sending cards by mail

Out —

• over spending

• neglecting self care

• eating out too often

• dirty cars

• no work/life balance

• procrastination

• letting fear win

• downplaying my work/work ethic

• running off little/no sleep

• saying yes when you mean no

• clutter

• quantity over quality

• dehydration

• “too busy” for meals/mental breaks

• not responding to texts right away

Seems pretty self explanatory, right? But there’s honestly a lot that goes in to this and I have a few goals that coincide with my ins, and a few that are just to better me as a person — and if you’re not putting your life in a public place for everyone to see, are you ever going to hold your self accountable? (jokes, seriously, but this is how my brain works personally, so here we are).

Cooking at home is actually one of my favorite things to do, and we’re typically pretty good about it - but I prefer to cook through out the week and use the weekends for eating out (and more dates!) — so far this year we’ve stuck to that as our routine for the most part. We’re prioritizing intentional time together so whether that’s making meals at home together, sitting down to eat dinner together not in front of the television, or having a date night… it’s tip top priority for 2024.

With that being said, I’ve also prioritized self care with a bunch of fun skincare products that came via my sister that I’ll be testing out to see if they live in permanent rotation, returned back to getting my nails done, and already got my hair done with a follow up appointment scheduled - the polar opposite of my entire time living in Florida when I barely touched my hair because I was afraid the hair stylists down here weren’t going to be as good. It took a little bit of trial and error, but I love the salon I’ve found!

As far as goals go, I’m definitely setting myself up for success with a more organized work routine — gathering some tools that will make my day to day go smoothly and allow me to truly flex what makes my marketing abilities special is going to take priority for the first quarter of the year — I recently started a new job in December and spent the first few weeks getting caught up on items that were behind — now that it’s a new year, I’m going to be able to implement a lot of change and bring some new ideas to the table and that’s really exciting for me. (y’all can help - drop your favorite TikTok and social media trends in the comments if you’d like!)

I’d like to see New Jersey more often — visit my family and friends as often as possible to enjoy quality time with loved ones. That’s going to involve having to pick through some programs where we gain mileage or points via a credit card or some type of system so that’s a big goal for us collectively. This also helps us for planning trips for just us two, or adventures with friends or family away from New Jersey, too.

My other goals that are appropriate for the internet (haha) are to return back to my own public social media - figure out what we’re chatting about there, why it’s worth someone following, and dive in to the content creation for fun. To send more physical cards to friends and family as often as possible - gentle reminders that people are thought about and loved. To be a healthier version of me with walks, water, and scheduling doctors appointments appropriately…. even if that’s going to be the most difficult things for me to complete (who’s buying me one of those giant trendy cups so I can use it as motivation for drinking water? kidding. sort of.).

I want to volunteer more, host dinners/cocktail nights/parties more, and just be truly more intentional through out the year with my time. I also want to know what everyone else is putting on their ins/outs list and setting as their goals because I’m obviously easily influenced and nosy so…. please share with the class.

Thanks for kicking off 2024 with me. I promise everything won’t be as full of rambles as this post but also I could talk about this stuff forever so…. if you’re not already following me on social media, feel free to come along. I’m @agirlwithabeat on pretty much everything.

Most Used & Must Buys for Amazon Prime Days

It’s tiiiiiiimmmmeeee. (Please read in a Mariah Carey voice)

Amazon Prime days are loved or hated depending on who you are but they’re a big hit in my inner circle because we all love a deal and I’ve been having in depth text conversations about what we’re buying versus what we need.

For example, my boyfriend and I need a dining room table, outside patio furniture, and a new vacuum. We’re buying none of that. 😅

I’ve compiled a list of some of the best items we’ve got in our carts, some of my constant repurchases, and items I think you’ll really love — and in full transparency, if you purchase through my link, I make a little extra cash, so that would be be awesome.

(Also bare in mind that this is happening while I am hopped up on NyQuil, sick AF so the graphics are cheesy and there’s not a ton of options.. I’m not sorry, I’m dyyyyinngggg.)

1. Liquid IV in Passion Fruit & Tropical Punch — I need these to survive. 2. Vitamins - obviously. These are ideal for those of us who have a difficult time taking chalky vitamins. 3. These Glass Storage Containers have made our fridge so much more organized. 4. Laundry Bags for the delicate items — a grown up necessity if you ask me. 5. Bathroom storage containers — they match our vibe and keep everything organized without giving me stress about items on the counter. 6. When you date a man who loves a whiskey drink, these rocks glasses are awesome. 7. Your girl loves coffee, obviously — this coffee grinder is awesome. 8. If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly stressed the off out — this Calm Magnesium Powder helps, 100%. 9. I love this Instant Pot, it’s changed the game for us on busy work nights. 10. Theragun Mini — post workout, post HHN, post Disney days must-have.

1. I’ve been swearing by this spray ever since I worked for Anthropologie a hundred years ago. Rosewater is a must for my skin. 2. Elemis cleansing balm is a major win and it hydrates my skin when I use it. 3. Belief True Blue Aqua Bomb was gifted to me a long while ago and I’ve repurchased it multiple times since. It feels amazing. 4. LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask has not left my nightside table in years - obsessed. 5. I love LANIEGE so much I carry the Glowy Lip Balm around with me in every bag, in every flavor. (& it’s one of my go-to gifts for all my friends and fam) 6. I would not survive without the Make Up Erasers and this pack of them is way too cute to pass up. 7. If you’ve been around here for a while, you know the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil is a favorite of mine & it smells SO good. It’s pricey, so get it while it’s discounted. 8. I am kind of rough at doing my hair but I was gifted a blow dry brush and it changed the game for me — seriously, if you can’t afford to jump into a shark or Dyson, grab one of these. 9. I love Real Techniques for everything, especially these foundation sponges. 10. Ice Eye Masks are a mandatory thing for me - they help with depuffing, they soothe when you have a headache, and they honestly just feel so nice all the damn time.

Get to Know Me in 2023

Starting over fresh with blog content allows for a lot of things including a re-introduction to my little corner of the internet and getting you all updated on the current state of Laurie in the second half of 2023. (Can you believe this year is over halfway gone?!)

I just moved in to an apartment in Orlando with my boyfriend after a year+ of sharing my tiny apartment in Clermont most nights out of the week. We’ve got a ton more space and some beautiful amenities that have truly made our adjustment period so smooth - seriously you guys, there is a SPA on property for massages and facials so we are truly living our best Orlando life.

My professional career has remained interesting and there is no shortage of dull moments around these parts. I’ve remained up to date with my freelancing and have been growing my client portfolio to keep some creativity flowing and help some truly special clients increase their digital footprints. Do you guys like those day in the life type posts? Because I can certainly do that!

Okay, so now that we’ve covered the basics of my return back to blogging get to know me, here’s some facts in case you want to be a Laurie super fan or you’re nosy like me!

1. Most of you are here from the book world and that’s still my highest honor (shout out to all you ride or dies!) and I am slowly but surely getting back into my book mode - my current TBR list is only one book: Ice Breaker. IYKYK.

2. My current obsession drink wise is a Poppi - either Raspberry Rose or Cherry Limeade but all of them are the best, seriously.

3. If you came here for the alcoholic drinks paired with books from the OG Book Club, I feel you - my go-to drink is typically always a Gin and Ginger Ale or a Gin and Jam. Basically Gin.

4. My current favorite binge watch is The Bear like everyone else on the planet but also Only Murderers In the Building, The Summer I Turned Pretty and obviously Heartstopper.

5. We’re big on seeing live music and we keep up with seeing our favorite artists when they come through…. we got gifted some tickets to see Taking Back Sunday next month so I am so excited for that!

Now, for the fun part! I asked for followers to submit some questions for me to answer and here’s what I got….

What are your favorite musicians or bands? Current favorite songs? Listening to anything new?
Truthfully, I’ve been deep into podcasts (which was another question!) but I’ll start with the first part - my favorites. The Beach Boys, always. Big into Harry Styles (I’ve got a One Direction tattoo after all) and Bleachers. Still love Taking Back Sunday. Lately also very into The Maine, AJR and obviously Taylor Swift.

Current Favorite Songs: Four Years Strong:

We All Float Down Here

A Day To Remember: The Downfall of Us All

Meet Me @ The Altar: Hit Like A Girl

The Wonder Years: Came Out Swinging

What are your favorite podcasts? Gals On The Go, Happy Hour with Gretchen Geraghty, Match Made In Manhattan, What We Said, Sunday Scares, and Longwinded by Nature.

Favorite restaurants in Orlando? Honestly, I always have a hard time with this — there’s nothing super definitive because it’s not like at home in New Jersey where I was obsessed and in love with certain spots and frequented them often. I do love Lazy Moon for pizza down here and at Disney Springs I seriously love Enzo’s Hideaway. Other contenders in the Orlando area: The Monroe, Hampton Social, Bar Taco, Three Birds Cafe.

What’s your ideal day at Disney look like? Honestly, I don’t go to Disney as much as I used to when I first moved down here but I definitely still love a brunch on property, maybe at Ohana - then go to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom for the first half of the day - always doing the People Mover or The Safari ride before parking hopping on over to Epcot. I’d finish with dinner in Italy, drinks in France or the UK, and fireworks. Easy peasy.

What’s next for you in 2024? This is deep and if I’m being totally honest with you all, I’ve been kind of winging the last couple years down here but now that I’ve moved into a beautiful space with my boyfriend and I’ve started to get myself settled a little bit more so I think a bigger dive into more creative projects will be on the horizon with my writing and some passion projects while I’m also going to be doing some fun stuff for work.

Ending on that note…. and because it’s 11pm and I’m a Grandma!
xo, Laurie