Vintage Modern

Monday, January 11, 2016

Weekending Wisdom

How was your weekend? Mine was really good, and it was for a few unexpected, surprising reasons.

I woke up Saturday and decided I wanted to go to the gym -- before we even ate breakfast. Sometimes you just have to do it. After that we made a yummy breakfast egg scramble including mushrooms, arugula and feta cheese along with a hash brown patty on the side. So simple, but so good! Jake and I also did a little shopping, I got my nails done (OPI Put it in Neutral, if you must know) and checked out a cute new store called Gratefully, Danielle. If you are in the Charlotte area, you must check it out. They carry a ton of local and fair trade items and the store is arranged by color. I love when stores do that!

Sunday was filled with intention. Even though it was a lazy Sunday, I still went to the gym AGAIN, did a little bit of work, watched 2 football games, made a delicious Blue Apron meal and even took a bath. I know, it's getting crazy up in here! oh, I left the part out about taking a nap. I actually felt like the weekend went by at a good pace and it didn't feel rushed. Maybe the key to having long, fun weekends is to do a bunch of stuff. For some reason, I feel very fulfilled and excited about going back to work tomorrow.

In case you are wondering, usually every weekend is the same. I was taking to my bother on the phone the other day and I was like, well, it literally takes me 4 hours to get ready... and that is not a joke. That sounds like crazy talk, but I guess I usually get distracted with other projects like watching Keeping up with the Kardashians or checking the mail. #sorrynotsorry

A typical weekend goes a little something like this: Jake has to work on his dissertation. I decide I'm going to go to the mall. After doing laundry, taking a shower, washing my hair, blow drying my hair, straightening my hair, putting my makeup on, it's usually around 1 or 2 pm and I decide I don't really feel like going to the mall anymore and I go to starbucks or grab a smoothie or Old Navy and then come home after a bit. The end.

Oh -- and I started doing this diary type thing called 52 Lists where you answer a new prompt each week. So far so good. If you like list making and journaling, then you will probably LOVE this.

How was your weekend? I hope it was as good as mine and that your week is even better.

xoxo,

Friday, January 8, 2016

Friday Five | Vol. 11

This week has seriously flown by for me! I thought it would go by slow since it's the first week back after the Holiday vacation but -- I must've been really busy at work (or watching Making a Murderer every single night after work). GUILTY (no pun intended).

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2016?

This week I went to an event at the new Juice Bar in the Park Road Shopping Center. The fresh juice I tried was amazing -- more to come on this front.

I am now addicted to Netflix again. First up: Finishing up Making a Murderer, Next up: Master of None.

We haven't taken down our Christmas wreath yet. It still smells amazing.

I picked up this perfume from anthro a few weeks ago and I cannot stop wearing it. I love it!

In case you were wondering, here are The Best Exercises To Do If You're out of Shape. Not saying you're out of shape, but...

xoxo,

Sunday, January 3, 2016

TSA Pre-check: Is it worth it?

I finally signed up for TSA Pre-check in early December, just in time for our last trip of the year to Seattle. What is Pre-check, you ask? This service lets you get through airport security quicker via a separate line from the general population. Scroll down to read my tips, thoughts on the experience and if I would recommend it.

If you regularly travel with a companion, make sure you both sign up for Pre-check since you both have to have it in order for it to work, i.e. someone cannot just tag along with you since you have it unless they are a child. This means I made Jake sign up for it too.

The sign-up process is slightly inconvenient, in that you have to get fingerprinted, but you don't have to do it at the airport. I made an appointment during my lunch break and went to an H&R Block to get my fingerprinting done. I was in and out within twenty minutes.

It usually takes less than a week to get your KTN (Known Traveler Number). They give you a website with a link to check your status. It takes a little longer to get the physical letter in the mail, but if you check the website you should find your KTN in less than a week after your appointment. I was pretty impressed with how quickly it was issued, considering it was close to the holidays.

It's $85 for 5 years. That breaks down to $17 per year and if you travel six times at year, its $2.83 per trip. That is less than a latte at Starbucks. After just one trip, Jake and I both agreed that it was worth that amount of money, even if it was just for one year -- even if it was just for one trip. We traveled on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and honestly, both times, the airports were not that crazy. But it was so nice to just breeze through security though - you don't have to take your shoes off, your laptop out of it's case or your liquids baggie out of the rest of your carry-on. In Seattle we had to take our coat off, but not in Charlotte. So I assume it's up to the discretion of the TSA workers to decide.

Now, I have heard that you don't get selected for Pre-check each time you travel, so that will probably affect how much I like the program overall, but as long as I get selected more often than not, I will be happy with it. I'll provide an update on this piece later in the year.

Have you signed up for Pre-check? What has been your experience with it? Please share in the comments section below.

Travel Fully,

Friday, January 1, 2016

My 2015 Travels | A Year In Review

ICYMI (In case you missed it), I wanted to count down my favorite trips of 2015. Click on each location below to read the related post. Enjoy! ...and Happy New Year!!