Theme Week: Morning Routine

If there is one thing about my personality that has remained consistent throughout the years it is my status as a morning person. I love the cool air, dim light, airy sound of silence and that peaceful sense of aloneness that seems to resonate all throughout the house. I often get up extra early on the weekends just so I can relish this short time of the day.

On a regular week day; however, I need to be at work by eight o’clock. This effectively eliminates the hour I would like to spend sitting on the couch with cup of coffee reading a book, but I do get up early enough to not feel rushed. Here is my routine:

The Night Before – Pack my lunch. Make coffee. Slice a banana to freeze.

Packing my lunch is pretty high on my list of least of Least Favorite Chores. Despite this, I make a lunch I will look forward to every single night. Not much is worse than having a bad day at work, only to realize that you have a slice of salami, some fruit leather and plain Greek yogurt for lunch. I use a bento box so there are compartments for different things, but I’ve gotten it down to a pretty good science: wrap or salad, low fat string cheese, fruit and a Fiber One chocolate brownie.

5:30 AM – Get out of bed and get directly into a very hot shower. I wash my face with this Clean & Clear Morning Burst face wash every morning. I am not sure that it actually wakes me up but I love the way it smells and have been using it for years.

5:50 – Head downstairs to the kitchen to start coffee and have a glass of water.

5:55 – Sit down cross-legged on the couch with my laptop, water and make-up. I sort of multi-task and read a blog/check my e-mail while getting ready. For the past three years I have read Cupcakes and Cashmere (the first blog I ever started reading) first thing in the morning.

6:15/6:20 – Grab a cup of coffee and head upstairs to dry my hair and brush my teeth. I have wavy hair and it’s as long as it has ever been right now. I use a diffuser to blow it dry.

6:35ish – Stand in front of my closet with my coffee trying to figure out what to wear. Lately I have been trying to buy only things that make it easy to get dressed in the morning. I have a habit of wearing dress capris, a plain cotton shirt with a scarf or chunky necklace and the nude Nine West wedges pictured below. I am quite fond of them and am currently on my second pair!

6:50 – Head back downstairs to make a shake and get a snack ready. I will be sharing the exact recipe for my go-to shake tomorrow! On days that I take a salad for lunch I pack a mini pretzel bagel with honey mustard for a snack, and on days that I have a wrap I pack a bag of edamame.

7:05 – Assemble my bag and sit back down and enjoy a few minutes of quiet before I need to leave. I try to leave the house at 7:15 to avoid some really ugly traffic that accumulates on the road in front of our house.

So there you have it! Sometimes this all gets moved up a bit if I hit snooze until 5:45, but generally speaking I get up because feeling rushed tends to throw my day off. Stay tuned tomorrow for a breakfast recipe from each of us! I hope you have enjoyed hearing about how we start our mornings. Around here school started Monday or Tuesday for most kids, and for some reason the sound of crickets and air quality seems to indicate that it’s time to FALL back into a routine ;)