B&W, Pink,

The tale of Two Mornings

Although are only seven days in the week, I probably have about ten different morning routines that are forever in play, because, you know, I’m a mess!  

I’ll forever be envious of those people who have a strict morning routine. I’ve never really been one to have a specific wake up time every morning, and continuous plan for getting things done in a certain order. Maybe one day, I’ll grow up and get on board, but my life has just always been so varied that I have yet to find this consistency.

 Although two out of ten is a very small fraction, today I’ll be sharing the two healthier morning routines of mine that both include OLLY  Smoothies, in hopes to inspire you to implement these changes to perk up your morning. Selfishly, I also hope it will help me make these more of a constant in my AM’s for a happier, healthier and more productive start to the day.

AM Routine 1 – The Cozy Sweater Morning
Clocking in at about 3-ish days a week, the cozy sweater routine is probably the most used morning routine of mine, especially if I have a big day ahead. I tend to be an early riser, not by choice, but by necessity for my career. Getting up at 4 or 5 every morning helps me get everything done (emails, blog reading, instagram captions) early so I can free up my day – this is extremely necessary if I have meetings, events and photoshoots.

Since waking up is hard for me, my morning starts with three or four alarms and a sluggish stumble across the room (I have to put my phone far away so physically get up and wake up), then I hope in the shower. It’s usually cold but that helps wake me up (and it will keep your hair healthier too), when I get out, I’m refreshed but freezing so I slip into a cozy sweater and head to the kitchen. There I’ll grab fruit, almonds and my blender. I’ll snack on the nuts while I whip up something sweet using OLLY.

Why OLLY? –  Well I was introduced to OLLY after trying their vitamins, but I’m now a sucker for their  smoothies too. They’re made from natural, whole food sources full of vitamins and nutrients for balanced  nutrition, but TBH I really love the connivence and ease of the product – the built in scoop sits comfortably in the lid and the water mixing ability gives you the option to be really creative or really lazy with your creations, but still get a great breakfast!

Here are a few tried and tested recipe ideas to get you inspired:

After my smoothie is ready, I take care of Waffles (my french bulldog), put on lipstick (makes me feel like me, and also bc #snapchat) and start the day with inspiring things like surfing pinterest or reading some of my favorite blogs before tackling emails or the first few things on my todo list. I’ll also put on a good Spotify playlist (I like have a good day, Frank Sinatra or mouton to set a mood. Once the sun is up, I start to get ready and wake Paris 9if he isn’t already up) so we can go shoot around 8 before he heads to the office. Mornings like this are pretty productive and also relaxing, so best of both worlds.

The Most Important Meal of the Day
I’ve also never been a breakfast eater – I literally wake up craving lunch foods like a burger and fries or even steak, to prevent myself from eating stir fry before noon or having a donut every single day (once a week isn’t that bad right?)

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AM Routine 2 – The Move It Morning
It’s rare, but some mornings I’ll get up and go straight to the gym, this takes a lot of inspiration from me and some planning the night before, so this routine actually starts around 1-2 am when I usually get to sleep.

The night before, I lay out my outfit, charge my iPad (and download a TV show for the treadmill) and set double the amount of alarms – knowing me, I’ll fight the gym as much as I can, so sometimes I’ll even hide my phone in a bag in the other room, tricky, tricky.

What’s in my Gym Bag:

Once i’m up, I check in on Waffles, grab my bag and I’m out the door. After my work out, I make a mix smoothie (water and mix) at the gym and take the long way home, it’s sometimes nice to get out while the city is still kind of quiet, especially if I’m going to be working from home the rest of the day. These are non shoot days, because once I’m back at the apartment I shower, finish my smoothie and get to work. Sometimes I won’t get ready until later on so I can be makeup free and feel fresh like my smoothie, for most of the day.

This mix is also great for those donut-craving days. I’m a creature of habit, so if I eat one on Monday, I want it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So to break the bad habit I’ll have something chocolate-y without the sprinkles like this OLLY  Smoothie.

Well, hope these routines we’re helpful! I say this not only to you, but also (mostly) to myself – it’s so so so important to build strong morning habits, to set the tone for a good, productive day! I’m still very much a work in progress, but so far, this is what has been working for me – hopefully it can do the same.

Oh and if you took nothing else away from this post take this, if you aren’t having a post work out chocolate OLLY  smoothie in a disco ball cup, you’re doing something wrong 😉 #besthabitever.

Thanks to OLLY for partnering on this post! As always, all opinions are my own.
Feeling lucky? OLLY is giving away some  seriously  good goodies here. Good luck babes!

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