Happy Friday! Boy, this has been such a crazy week! Last weekend, I posted this reel on Instagram and it completely blew up! At the time I’m writing this, it has 196,000 views and I’ve gotten nearly 3,000 followers just from that video alone! On Wednesday morning, I officially hit 10,000 followers on Instagram which was SUCH an exciting milestone! This was my goal to hit by the end of the year, so I guess it’s time for me to find a new goal! Sunday, when the Reel really started to take off, to Wednesday, when I officially hit 10k, was such a whirlwind and exciting few days. My parents, Shane, and I were all just constantly watching the follower count creep up and refreshing nonstop! It was honestly kind of a relief when it finally got there because we got to relax! It’s silly, but reaching 10,000 followers is a huge milestone for me and helps me at least feel more legitimate in this influencer world!
The morning I hit it, Shane surprised me with doughnuts for breakfast and one of my besties brought me cupcakes that had 10k written on them to celebrate!
Today, we’re headed on a little weekend getaway with some of our friends to Catalina Island! For those of you not from California, Catalina is a small island about 26 miles off the coast that caters to locals and tourists with fun restaurants, boutiques, and relaxing beach vibes! We will be staying on our friends’ boat, but plan to venture into town as well! It will be really nice to just have a relaxing weekend with friends. I’m sure I’ll be sharing snippets on my Instagram stories!
Now, for the report…
Reading
I finally finished Swan Song! It was great and I really enjoyed it! If you’re looking for a good beach read I would definitely recommend it. Next up, I’m reading The Perfect Couple also by Elin Hilderbrand to prepare for the Netflix miniseries coming in September. I’ve only barely started it, but I’m excited to dive in during down time this weekend!
Eating
Those of you who follow me on Instagram probably already saw this, but I officially made my first sourdough loaf this past weekend and it was a complete success! I followed this recipe I found from a TikTok creator that made it really easy for me to follow. If you’re just getting started with sourdough, I really recommend this recipe. It’s broken down into exact times for each step which I appreciated. I’m making another loaf tonight (Thursday night) that I’m planning to bake in the morning right before we leave, so hopefully it turns out as well as last week’s!
Playing
Since we’re anticipating a lot of downtime on the boat, we’re bringing two of our favorite card games to play with the group… Monopoly Deal and Five Crowns! Have you guys played either of these before? If not and you’re looking for easy games to travel with, you must give them a try! Both can be played with just two people, which I really appreciate.
Obsessing
Earlier this week my aunt picked me up on a whim and took me to this secret dahlia garden run out of a woman’s house in Costa Mesa. She has the most amazing dahlia stems I’ve ever seen and lets you walk through the garden selecting your favorites. If you’re local and want to check it out, send me a DM on Instagram and I’ll send you the address!
Recommending
In my reel that went semi-viral last weekend, I shared some chocolate chip cookies I made using this recipe! They were delicious, but they required sourdough starter. If you’re not a sourdough person, this is my other favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe I make all. the. time. It’s always a crowd pleaser and I actually think I may like them more than the sourdough ones.
Treating
I’ve been sleeping exceptionally badly the past couple of weeks and I finally bit the bullet and ordered this pillow. I’ve seen lots of people rave about The Pillow Bar and their amazing Side Sleeper Pillow, so I’m really excited to give it a try. When you order, you get to leave notes about your age, gender, height, and any other comments you have about your sleep and they custom-fill the pillow for you! It doesn’t hurt that you get to add a complimentary monogram to it too! If you’re looking for a new pillow too, you can use the code “SIDESLEEPER10” for 10% off! Have you tried any pillows from The Pillow Bar before? I’ll be sure to do a full review of my thoughts once I’ve slept with it for a while.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
