This week has been a little crazy for me. Even though I only worked for three days of it (the reason why is #5 today), by Tuesday night I had a bit of a breakdown. I was feeling overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions. I enjoy everything that I do, but lately I’ve been feeling like I’m doing everything adequately and nothing 100%. Does that make sense?

I have a long weekend with friends here in the city to relax, then I’m going to take some time to reprioritize everything I’ve got going on. These are good problems to have; I just need to find a more sustainable way to make things work. Remember — if something isn’t working for you, change it. You’re in control of your life and what you do with it.

On that note, here are some things that definitely brought me joy this week. Let me know about yours in the comments!

1. Mask Brush

I had never used a brush to apply a face mask until my last trip to Scratch Goods — a local mask bar here in Chicago. It was a life changing experience. I don’t know why it was so satisfying, but I went home and scrounged around in my closet until I found one old makeup brush that I attempted to slather a mask on and then apply it to my face. It did not turn out well.

I made a stop in there last weekend and came home with one of my own, which I can’t be more excited about. Let’s just say there’s going to be some epic masking this weekend.

2. Haircut

I always know how much I enjoy getting my hair cut, yet I always wait until way past the time I need it. I finally did it this week after not going for 8 months. It’s still long, just cleaned up, lighter, and not horribly broken on the ends.

If you’re looking for a good haircut in the city, I go to Dennis Bartolomei salon in Gold Coast.

3. Flowers

Every Spring the city undergoes a radical transformation. Virtually overnight the medians are filled with beautiful flowers and the trees start to bloom. Granted, most of it is artificial in that the ground is dug up and things are planted, but they’re beautiful nonetheless.

I love that things are getting warmer and the sun is coming out more frequently these days.

4. The Chasing Joy Podcast

I promise today’s post is not entirely about me. Just 2/5.

I had the privilege of being on my friend Georgie’s podcast this week and we discussed my addiction, finding your identity, learning to be transparent, and a ton of other magical things. If you’re a fan of podcasts, check it out. If you’re not, also check it out. All of her episodes are uplifting and enlightening. You can read more about my episode here and find all the episodes on iTunes here.

5. Girls Weekend

This weekend has been in the making for a couple months and I’m super excited that it’s here! My friends Ashley and Jess are visiting for a long weekend in the city. They arrived yesterday, I took off work, we got a hotel, and we are going to eat and explore like nobody’s business. I’m even going to yoga tonight (insert surprise emoji). The things you’ll do for friends…

Follow along on Instagram as we will all be sharing our adventures throughout the weekend!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll check back in with a recap on Monday!