Have you ever had one of those days/weeks/months/years where try as you might, you can’t pull your bootstraps up and get your ass in gear? Where no matter what you do, who you talk to, or what concoction of self care elixir you conjure up, you just can’t? Welcome to the club. It’s the reason I couldn’t publish this last week as I’d planned. Or stick to a podcast recording schedule. *nervous laughter* I was chatting with a friend about a week and a half ago — and it was one of those, “No, but how are you really?” conversations. She shared that for reasons — either known and/or unknown — she co ..read more

Admittedly, this blog is coming out much later than I’d planned. Though, despite the Christmas extravaganza that’s displayed at Target, it’s technically still November, so not too far off… You heard it here last, folks! I started a podcast this month! Meet Self Care, with me, David Self! A/D OGs may remember On Air with Avec David — a two or three episode stint of a podcast that I launched with the start of the blog. This is definietly not that. (And that’s a good thing!) So far, Self Care is everything that I hoped it would become and more. It’s the embodiment of the growth I’ve seen in myse ..read more

Let me preface this by saying, I’m by no means a prefessional in this space. I’m a couple of years into my practice, and still have a lot to learn. That said, this was how I got my start and what I’ve picked up since then — and remember: judgement free zone. (Plus free resources from actual pros…) Once upon a time, I was a small-town spring chicken with big dreams, a fast metabolism, and an entire collection of unhealthy coping mechanisms. But actually. Like Disney’s beloved red-headed mermaid, I had gadgets and gizmos, aplenty, anxiety and emotion-aversion, galore! Conflict stressed me out ..read more

While I had big plans to forget about my thirtieth birthday with a week and a half in Paris, Miss Rona had other plans. Instead of macarons and museums, I had Milk Bar cake and a movie. TBH though, it was actually pretty nice. After all, I feel fortunate to have been able to even celebrate my birthday this year — even if it was the big 3-0. I took the opportunity to pause and reflect on my life up to this point — goals I’d set, obstacles encountered, love, love lost, and the decision to get a cat — and came up with a list of lessons I’ve learned thus far. 30 Lessons I’ve Learned in Life (So F ..read more

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Spring Magazine. Last August, I wrote a blog on Avec David chronicling the ten things to consider before moving in with a significant other. I laugh now, reading, “having a month-and-a-half under our belt…” We were so new to cohabitating. (And compared to some of you, we still are.) Three years ago, I moved to Seattle — into an apartment where I lived on my own for the first time in my 26.75 years of existence. Two years and a few months later, I traded in my electronic key fob (and solitude) for a life with someone by my side. And H ..read more

Sometimes all you need to make your problems disappear is a good book. (Okay, okay, I know that doesn’t quite apply when we’re in the middle of a pandemic sh*tshow.) But we can still embrace the spirit of that juicy summer read — we’ll just be on our patios and in our beds instead of at the beach. If you’re like me, you probably feel stuck on an emotional rollercoaster that you can’t seem to escape (no matter how hard you try). To honor those totally valid emotions we’re all cycling through, I curated the perfect summer reading list. This list includes books to match your quarantine mood of t ..read more

Between RHOBH and RHONY this week, my wanderlust is out of control. Surely, you didn’t miss Dorit’s “casual” Chanel look (pictured above), right? And though the villa the Big Apple girls were staying at in Cancun was s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g, it was the shopping in Rome that really got my heart racing.  “I see it. I like. I want it. I got it.” 7 Rings, Ariana Grande Unfortunately, I can’t spend five digits at Gucci or Bottega — you know, saving for a house and all — so I’m going to have to stick to some more budget-friendly shops to get my retail therapy in. My next 7 purchases: At Ease Jogger ..read more

There’s a subscription box out there for everyone and my little hair-obsessed Virgo heart found mine. The Tress Club is a quarterly box customized to my hair type filled with thoughtfully curated, full-sized hair products just por moi. Tress Club seemed to hear my cries of frizzy, unmanageable hopelessness, and sent out a sign they knew I would be sure to get; a targeted ad on Instagram. You can find my detailed review after my (virtual) sit-down with Mary. Started in Silicon Valley, Hair Stylist Mary Rouse saw a gap in the market and decided to address it. Mary seems to have a firm ..read more

Temporarily*. A couple (a few?) weeks ago I took a week off of social media. Truthfully, I don’t know how long ago it was because I don’t even know what time is anymore. Can anyone else relate?  Like, is it Thursday? Is it Monday? And WHAT time is it? I feel like I’m constantly waking up from one of those afternoon naps that you only anticipated being 15 minutes. The one where you immediately think it’s the next day and you’re late for school, work, etc. and it takes a few minutes to snap out of the space-time continuum hangover you’re trapped in. OMG, are we living in the Twilight Zone ..read more

Let’s talk about boundaries. (I know... big topic.) But before we dive in, let me ask you this: Is it safe to assume that you feel like something isn’t right in one of your relationships (platonic or other) but you’re not quite sure what it is, or maybe you know and aren’t sure what to do next? Maybe there’s tension between you two because of a certain behavior, difference of opinion that’s not respected, discomfort or even friction as a result of floodlighting* in the relationship?  If you answered yes, welcome to the club. In fact, I’ve been there, done that, bought out the whole gift ..read more