5 minute read

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So I'll admit it. I'm 30, but sometimes I feel like I'm going on 60. And if I keep admitting things here, I'm not really all that upset about it. My mom has always teased me that I'm a pretty old soul -- and the woman does know me best. Case in point: If left to my own devices on a Friday night, I love staying in and reading, catching up on my British dramas (hello, The Crown!) and as of late, I find myself reaching for tea as opposed to my old go-to, an Old Fashioned.

Don't get me wrong. I love enjoying all the crazy things this city has to offer, restaurants and parties and the like. But sometimes, a girl just needs to reboot. With her puppy nearby. And candles lit. And a face mask on. Am I right? Or am I right?

And much to the delight of my inner 60 year old (that does sound awful, doesn't it?), I have to say winters here in New York give this delightful excuse to do just that. Somewhere between New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day and then again until St. Patrick's Day, the social calendar slows down significantly, friends stop planning as many Fridays out and suddenly, you're eating healthy, cooking at home to save money and working on all those things that you said you were going to do during the summer (like finally organizing your shoe closet). I call it the "Great New Yorker Hibernation." Not to be confused with the "Great New Yorker Migration" (which is when you suddenly notice all your friends' selfies down in Miami in March), but I digress.

So what am I doing for my GNYH? Well, aside from my obvious need to organize my shoe closet, I have a few personal goals I'd like to hit. In no particular order, they are:

  1. Read more: Admittedly, I already read a ton (nerd alert, ahead), but in the winter, I love piling up all sorts of different books (fiction and non-fiction alike) and really plowing through them. So far, I have a few Patti Smith books started and just picked up A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. The minute that first snow day comes, you know where to find me.
  2. Finally finish decorating and organizing my apartment: Confession time: I've now lived in my studio here in the West Village for close to two years and I'm still in the midst of decorating mode. Let's just say, I like to take my time with interior design decisions. Luckily, I'm down to a few remaining checklist items, namely a large painting to go above my couch (just commissioned an artist yesterday, stay tuned) and a mini gallery wall to go in my bathroom. Once everything comes together, Elvis and I will do a big unveiling here on the blog. 🙂
  3. Meditate each day: Pretty self-explanatory. I think every New Yorker could benefit from 1o minutes of just silence (which means I may need to ask Santa for some noise canceling headphones this year to block out the honking on Hudson Street).
  4. Hair reboot: If I can play favorites here, this one is probably what I look forward to most. When the social calendar slows down, your beauty regimen takes a bit of a backseat and for those stretches of days when it's just business as usual here at This Time Tomorrow, with no social obligations, I'll opt for minimal makeup and heat-less styling. Because, let's face it: As I've mentioned before, I'm a repeat abuser of my curling wand, over and over again, which means my hair takes a consistent beating. When you couple that with the pollution in New York and summer highlights, my hair come January is pretty darn exhausted. This season, I'm looking forward to fully letting my hair reboot. This means embracing day old curls (they're superior anyway) and hunkering down with an intense moisturizing routine. Y'all know me, I'm always on the lookout for new hair products that can help my already dry locks, so when the folks over at PANTENE asked me to try out their Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Collection, I was curious. Given that I've been a longtime user of Pantene since middle school (I remember begging my mom to buy it for me), I've trusted the brand to deliver on their product promises. And while I rotate between multiple hair care lines (so my hair doesn't get too 'comfortable' with one in particular), I love that Pantene packs the same hydrating punch of its salon-caliber competitors at a fraction of the price. I've already started using their Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Miracle Repair Shampoo and Protecting Conditioner the past few days, and even treated myself to a little bath the other night, leaving the conditioner in longer than usual, so I could read in the tub. My hair is already starting to feel the benefits -- smoother, less tangles and less end breakage (which tends to be my downfall with heat styling).

What do you guys do when winter rolls around? Do you freshen up your hair care routine or perhaps make a list of other goals? Would love to know in the comments!

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Photos by Ashley Batz

This post was in collaboration with PANTENE. As always, all opinions and styling are my own. Thank you for supporting all This Time Tomorrow collaborations!