Before I moved to Chicago I never ran with a group. Occasionally I would run with a friend, but I rarely ran with more than one person (with the exception of races, of course). While I prefer to run alone for the most part — I love my me time and listening to music or Audible books — I was reminded last week of the benefits of running with a group. Benefits of group running: Motivation and ... Read more
Fun Subscription, Membership and Experience Gifts
** This post contains affiliate links. I am compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise! I'm a big fan of giving experiences and subscriptions as gifts. Many of us have people in our lives who own so much stuff that you don't know what they could possibly want or need. Giving classes, tickets and memberships won't ... Read more
Our Little Secret
Abigail Joyce Photography | Third anniversary photos at Montrose Harbor, Chicago Toward the end of summer I started to lose my motivation and focus. I felt lost and uninspired, and I wasn't sure what to do next. I shifted my priorities, gave myself a break and now I can happily say that I'm starting to gain some of that drive back, in large part because of some upcoming, exciting changes ... Read more
Saying Yes to My Well-Being
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WellYesMoment #CollectiveBias I've always considered myself to be a motivated and driven person. I am always saying yes to new classes, activities and opportunities, sometimes to my own detriment. I say this because in trying to do too much, I have sometimes neglected my ... Read more
Fitness Favorites and Ways to Find Low-Cost Workouts
Lately I've been all about finding ways to sweat at home, whether it's trying a workout I found on YouTube or practicing yoga on my own when I can't make it to class. Life has been crazy lately, which means running has taken a backseat. My most recent long run was almost 12 miles a couple of weeks ago, and it will likely be my last major distance for a while. My plan is to instead focus strength ... Read more
August Goals
Yet again I am shocked by how quickly time passes. Will that ever stop happening?In June I set an intention to invest in myself and my blog, and in July I continued doing that. As you might have noticed, I had several collaborations that came about because I set that goal. I also invested any earnings from Floradise blog back into tools that will help me continue to improve it. I enrolled in ... Read more
Kayaking on the Chicago River
** Wateriders of Chicago provided a complimentary kayaking tour for this post about kayaking on the Chicago River. All opinions are my own. One of my Chicago summer bucket list items this year was to go kayaking on the Chicago River. I have wanted to do this the past two summers, but we have not been able to do so yet. Chicago summers are a dizzying blur of events and happenings, so it's easy for ... Read more
Half-Marathon Training, Week 2
So far, so good. Week 2 of half-marathon training for the Chicago Half Marathon was successful in that I trained four days out of the week and increased my running mileage by 10 percent. That percentage is my goal for increasing mileage each week of the 12-week training process. Week 3 will be tricky because my oldest nephew, who just graduated from high school, will be visiting us in ... Read more
Life Update & Favorites
** This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission on purchases made through these links. Today I'm sharing a compilation of thoughts that wouldn't really compose an entire post on their own. We've had a ton going on lately, and sometimes I struggle to keep up. Planning has helped immensely, as has simply writing things down in a journal or blog to let these thoughts out. I'm ... Read more
Becoming a Mermaid With AquaMermaid Chicago
** Thank you AquaMermaid Chicago for hosting me for a mermaid class. All thoughts are always my own. Photo taken with a GoPro, so quality of image differs from my other posts. Note: Airbnb did a feature on the class I attended. Read it here. I've always been a mermaid at heart. Haven't we all dreamed of being a mermaid? AquaMermaid helped me make that ... Read more