I hope Friday is off to a great start for you guys! Finn and I traveled to Florida yesterday afternoon to spend the weekend with my family. We haven’t visited since May so my grandmother couldn’t wait to see how much he’d grown and changed…and to see him walking in person! He is getting super steady on his feet and walking pretty much everywhere now.

Also, my nieces are here! We haven’t seen them since Christmas break so we were long overdue a visit. 🙂

Tropical Storm Barry is missing us (sending lots of prayers to the New Orleans area) but we are definitely experiencing rough, stormy seas and some rain because of it. That’s okay though! I’m just happy to be here and hanging out with my family. We’ll sneak in some swimming and beach time when the weather allows.

A few Friday favorites for you today. I’ve been making a list in my head for a few weeks now of some things I want to share.

While on the topic of travel, do y’all use packing cubes? I’ve had some for a couple of years now and I’m on and off about using them. My recent Jamaica trip reminded me how helpful they are so I packed with them again for this trip. They’re great for keeping things organized and make packing/unpacking so much easier.

When I was in Florida back in May my dad gave me two Yeti tumblers that he wasn’t using. I am obsessed! I take this cup with me everywhere now…on walks, to teach classes, upstairs to bed at night. It keeps my drinks cold for hours and hours and hours. I want to order this lid for it so that when I walk and run, my water doesn’t slosh out.

Finn loves my Yeti too. 🙂 He’s all about drinking water these days. It’s one of his favorite activities. And when he first started drinking from cups I taught him how to go “ahhhhhhh” after he drinks water. It’s kind of become our word for water now and he does it all the time. Very cute.

Oh, I also packed a Yeti in my suitcase for Jamaica and it came in very handy at the pool and on the beach whether I wanted to have some ice water or drinks that stayed cold in the hot sun.

I recently switched from a pop socket to a ring grip for my iPhone.

The big seller on the ring grip switch was the magnetic mount system for the car. I use my GPS to get everywhere in Charlotte because traffic is so ridiculous these days so I love having my phone at eye level instead of down in my cup holder or in my lap. Much safer this way.

Lots of travel/portable/convenience faves today! I ordered this portable bluetooth speaker for the retreat and you can’t beat it for the price. It’s small, produces great sound given the extremely reasonable price tag and holds a charge for an impressive length of time. I’ve already used it quite a lot since returning home!

If you have dark hair and gray roots like I do and find yourself regularly wearing a hat/trying to cover up grays between appointments, I found the best root concealer that I’ve tried yet. I appreciate that it’s not a dry shampoo so it doesn’t feel as heavy on your hair. All things considered, it works pretty darn well. I mean, nothing is going to be like fresh color but unless I want to go every four weeks, stuff like this is going to have to get me through.

I started getting gray hairs when I was 18 of course they’ve spread as I’ve gotten older. I started coloring my hair 6-7 years ago. I held out as long as I could! I used to be able to spread color appointments 12 weeks but these days it’s more like 6-7 before I can’t stand it. It feels impossible to hide grays with dark hair, and of course mine seem to be concentrated near where I part my hair. Ugh.

I opt for all over color and to keep my hair its natural dark shade because it is much less damaging to put color on my hair than to strip it out and lighten my hair. I know that some lighter color would help blend the grays more but it would just be expensive, harsh and require a lot of upkeep.

Not sure how I got off on that tangent…but I’m sure many can relate. Would love to hear any tips and tricks you might have for dark hair + gray hair. 😉

Alright guys, enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back soon with recent eats!

Give me all your best tips for dark hair + gray hair. 

Any travel gear that you can’t live without/find extremely useful?

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