Life, Lately: May 2019

Here we are, it’s almost Memorial Day Weekend. Time flies when you’re traveling apparently 😂

I am traveling some more this weekend and will be heading down to Baltimore Saturday with the fam + Jeremy for my cousin’s wedding. I’ve only been to Baltimore one other time and it was a quick pitstop on the way home from DC during a school trip. I’m looking forward to exploring and celebrating.

And you, my lovely reader? Are you heading anywhere fun this weekend? I actually kind of prefer to stay in NYC during holiday weekends as the city gets super quiet.

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a life update and given you a peak behind the curtain of what I show you on instagram + here on the blog. Here’s what’s been going down behind the scenes:

I’m getting back in the swing of things post travel

Traveling for ~3 weeks was freaking magical, don’t get me wrong, but coming back after all that time away has been an utter shit show. Beyond dealing with jet lag the first few days (ugh) I’m still trying to catch up on all the little things that fell through the cracks while I was away. Doctors appointments. Partnership meetings. Emails. My DVR…. Y’know, all the important things.

I feel like I’m still getting back into my teaching groove too, even though I’ve already taught like 20 classes since I’ve been back. My first few yoga classes back I had NO idea what words were coming out of my mouth. It’s like I totally forgot how to teach and how to cue a Warrior 2. And I completely forgot a whole section of stretching in one of my Bar Method classes… But I’m starting to feel confident again. And like I know WTF is coming out of my mouth.

 

I am SO excited for The Bar Method – Noho to open

If all goes well with construction, it looks like The Bar Method – Noho will be opening in the next month or so. AHHHHH!

If you’ve been following along you know that for the past 7 months I’ve been training to become a certified Bar Method instructor. Well, I’m now a full-fledged certified instructor, I’m just waiting for the studio to open. To say I’m excited would be a huge understatement.

Behind the scenes I feel like I’ve been scrambling all over the place for the last 7 months.

I workout at the Williamsburg Bar Method location. I practice teach twice a week at the Hoboken location. And on Friday’s I leave Manhattan at the crack of dawn to teach two classes in Connecticut. While I’ve loved this process, it’s truly been a testament to my love of the Bar Method. I am very excited for this walking distance, Manhattan studio to open. And let’s be blunt, to be saving $$ on my membership while I make $$ as an instructor. Gotta keep it real, as always, friends 😜

 

I am feeling a bit less anxious and life now that I have a new schedule

I am very Type-A in the sense that I like to have a plan and know what’s going on. These past few months of living in limbo and not knowing what my future schedule is going to look like has caused me some serious anxiety. Unlike when I worked 9-5 and kind of knew where I’d be for a solid chunk of the day, my schedule changes based on the classes I’m teaching. Now that I know my somewhat permanent schedule at The Bar Method, it feels like a huge sigh of relief.

 

I am doing a bit a soul searching

Granted, when am I not? But now that I am seeing how things are falling in place with my new schedule I am also thinking about what are the additional things I want to add to my plate (and potentially remove) so I can better focus on the things I love doing and the things that also give me financial stability.

Lately I haven’t been feeling super excited about doing sponsored posts and things like that on instagram / the blog. I think some of it is because I don’t always love feeling like a guinea pig if that makes sense? Sometimes I do get to work with brands I already know, use and love, but other times I am trying things out for the first time to see if they are a fit. Just like I used to get jazzed about trying new fitness classes and writing fitness reviews and now I don’t because I just want to do the workout I already know I love, I’m feeling a bit the same when it comes to trying new products.

There are even times when I sit down to write my favorite things post on a Friday that I feel like I have nothing new to share. My schedule might be all over the place, but my life is actually kind of boring and predictable. Which I don’t mind. Most days I wear the same thing. I stick to the same skincare routine my dermatologist prescribed me. My boyfriend and I go to the same restaurants over and over again. And I rarely wear make-up so can’t justify spending a lot of money on new products.

I’m not declaring that I shall never do another sponsored post. Hi, brands, still feel free to email me if you think our messages are aligned. What I am doing is thinking about things and what I want the future of Kayla in the City and my instagram to look like.

I am also always thinking about what if this all goes away. “This” being instagram, influencers and content creators. What happens if instagram goes away tomorrow, what will I have to show for all these hours I’ve spent stressing over some social media platform?

I don’t have a perfect answer to that question. Or a well formed, well thought out answer at that. What I do know is, this is why I continue to focus on creating content on this blog (isn’t it meta to talk about here?!) and potentially other outlets that allow me to write. Which is something I personally love to do and is why I started a blog in the first place 7 years ago.

Phew, that got deeper than I anticipated!

 

I am getting SO hyped for summer

Let’s finish this off on a lighter note, shall we!

The warm weather this week reminded me just how much I freaking love summer. I prefer the warm weather. The cute summer dresses and sandals. Spending all day outside. Potentially going to the beach. ALL of it, I just love summer and anything that’s not winter 😂

✨

And you? What’s been going down in your life lately?