Four Eyes

Some of you may remember that my 25th birthday was a few weeks ago….well, 24 bid me farewell with an ass-kicker of a birthday present. For as long as I can remember, I've had pretty much perfect vision (I was lucky enough to rarely get sick growing up, too—something that has not followed me to adulthood, either). I aced vision charts for physicals and took a little secret pride in being able to read the teeny, tiny print on the smallest lines from halfway down the hallway.  A few years ago, I took a job that involved a lot of long, long days in front of a computer screen, often working in photoshop at 400% zoom, and things declined rapidly.

Fast forward about 9 months and I realized I was struggling to read the digitized subway signs as the trains pulled into the station; any text more than a few feet away had a slight gaussian blur (pardon the photoshop pun). A few months later I started being covered under vision insurance at work, but I put off making a doctor's appointment. Eventually, I changed jobs and lost the insurance in the process, meaning I was only covered by my mom's back in Iowa. In the meantime, things weren't getting any better…so when I headed home for a quick (72 hour!) trip a few weeks ago, I prioritized an eye exam and came out with a new prescription.

Since everything vision is still pretty new to me, I assumed I'd walk out that day with a pair of glasses on their way to me, but once we looked at the price tags compared to the paltry coverage offered on my mom's plan I knew that wouldn't be happening. Vaguely familiar with Warby Parker, I decided I'd check them out when I got back to the city—at $95 a pair with some insurance reimbursement, they sounded like a pretty good deal. I popped up to the new UES store a few weeks ago with an image in my head of what I wanted and in less than ten minutes landed on the Baxter, which you see here! 

I'm still experimenting with when I need to wear them and when I don't. They're most helpful when I'm waiting for the subway since several trains run over my line and not all of them get me home, but I'm usually wearing sunglasses once I'm outdoors. I thought I'd need them more at work, but I haven't struggled too much with computer screens yet, the irony of which is not lost on me. I did wear them during a concert last week, as I've noticed trouble focusing on performances when I'm further away or up high. 

I think it's going to take some getting used to, so any advice you fellow four-eyes out there can offer would be great. I feel like frames in general are stupidly hipster these days, and as an avid sunglass wearer I also keep thinking that I forgot to take my sunglasses off inside before remembering they are see-through. This has also made for some awkward moments on the subway when I have them on and realize that, yes, the person whose direction I'm vaguely staring in can see me (reflective sunglasses are a lot more helpful in these cases).

Warby Parker Baxter in Striped Sassafras || Equipment Washed Silk Blouse || BITE High Pigment Pencil in Quince

Fitness Notes

Few, if any, of you are aware of this, but Blonde in this City is not my first go at blogging! In college, I started using Tumblr & gradually began to create my own content that morphed into a fitness blog. Once I moved to NYC in 2011, it fell to the side as I looked for jobs & winter approached (you could probably find it online still, if you really wanted to), but the desire to stay fit in my adult life has not left me. 

I'm not exactly what you'd call the "athletic" type, though I've been a dancer & competitive swimmer nearly all my life. There were a handful of other sports sprinkled in there, but those are the two that stuck (and will never leave me, either). I was a truly horrendous runner growing up, which I later found out was caused in part by a heart murmur and shortness of breath. A fairly severe dance injury to my hip (seven years ago today, to be exact!) shattered a lot of hopes I had of continuing to dance through college and I still experience pain and setbacks from it on a regular basis. I've come to accept that I'll never fully recover, but I know that keeping myself strong is the best thing I can do! 

Finding time to be active can be a struggle in itself; I joined a gym towards the beginning of the year, mainly for access to an indoor year-round lap pool, but also for motivation. I can't afford to be paying for something I don't use! I took up ballet again last spring, although it's been a few months since I've made it to a class. Yoga became a regular part of my routine post-college, particularly when I was going through a bad period in a relationship. Stepping away from everything to focus on my breath and how my body feels has helped awaken a deeper desire to better myself. Lastly, like I said before, I'm not a runner by nature but I look at it as a challenge to overcome. I started jogging around my neighborhood in Des Moines over my summers in college and I opt for a treadmill at the gym instead of an elliptical now regardless of my pain levels that day. My shallow breath capacity makes it tough to run even a mile without getting winded, but I hope one day I'll feel comfortable and strong enough with running to sign up for a race!

Staying consistent is tough, but I've recently set some goals for myself to make sure I'm getting in some activity a handful of times a week no matter how busy I am. My options are endless, from $5 yoga classes nearby to ballet to Broadway Dance Center to my gym & the pool to a run in my neighborhood!  Having a lot of choices is a helpful reminder that exercise isn't a chore. In the end, it's not about a number on a scale for me, but about how I feel from the minute I get up until my head hits the pillow at night. 

Do you have any fitness tips, exercise regimens, or places you go to for motivation/inspiration? I want to know! (I didn't touch on food or nutrition here & plan to at a later date, but it's never too early to learn something new-so share those, too!)

*image via

Weekend Detox

With the last dregs of winter weather finally, finally leaving NYC & a packed, fun summer ahead of me, I thought I'd take advantage of the rainy weekend and do a little detoxing inside & out. I'll be headed to Mexico in less than a month and I want my skin to look & feel its best! I kicked off my morning with some cleaning around my apartment on Sunday, opting for lemon water instead of coffee to help flush the toxins out of my body (still unsure about lemon water? Here's eight reasons why you should start drinking it, stat), followed by a long shower and some of my go-to beauty products!

Before hopping in the shower, I slipped on some Crest Whitestrips for about 10 minutes-any longer, and they make my teeth too sensitive, but I use them once or twice a month to keep my smile bright! I'm currently going about a week in between hair washes, but I did a deep exfoliation of my skin with one of my favorite scrubs (that conveniently smells like a margarita). A little bit of Kate Somerville's Exfolikate on my Clarisonic Mia 2 helped me ditch dull, dry skin, followed up with my favorite mask and facial serum post-shower. To keep my hair healthy in between washes, I've been rubbing a little Orofluido into the ends a couple times a week and combing out the tangles with a wide tooth comb. Orofluido is, hands down, one of my best beauty finds of the year so far! Lastly, I used my latest addiction, coconut oil. I warm a little up in a bowl and rub it into my skin to give it some much-needed TLC. 

What do you do when you need a beauty detox?

*top image via