Red Frill Dress Worn Two Ways + Reality Check

Happy Monday!

Sometimes I think it’s important to take a step back and do a reality check. Lately, I’ve been going non-stop as if my life depended on it – not taking care of myself and not giving my family the attention they deserve. I was at burnout point and what do you think happened as a result? I got sick. I mean it was a cold but I never get colds so that in itself was inevitable. When the body can’t keep up, it shuts down. So these are the things that I do know:

1. Working 5 days a week, commuting back and forth to the city is a killer, physically and emotionally. I’m still having a hard time adjusting.
2. There is little to no time to catch up with the family and catch up on your own life after a long day of work.
3. Two days in a weekend is not enough to catch up on everything you need to do.
4. I go to bed late and wake up early so I am ALWAYS tired.
5. I miss spending quality time with my family.

I have been going with the flow so much that on the weekends, I do not want to move but I do. But I don’t do things that are enjoyable like take little trips with my family. So this weekend, whether they wanted to or not, I encouraged the hubs and kiddos to go apple picking. Granted, it was one hour away but that’s okay. I looked at it as a day trip which we hadn’t done in a while. I’m so glad we went because we had a great time! Fresh picked apples are the only apples I can really eat, so every year, I try to make the trip. To me, it’s just a fun day away from home.

I began to reflect on my life during this long drive and realized that there are a few things that will need to change if I want to keep my sanity and to avoid burnout.

1. I will continue to take breaks from social media. That is a must for me because it is truly a time suck.
2. I will make more time for my family and work at incorporating game nights and movie nights back into our routine.
3. I will not let my 9-5 control my life. I refuse to do so.
4. I will try my best to develop a better sleep routine. I have been trying this for years but have failed everytime. As I’m writing this, I probably should be sleeping but I feel the need to write this down.
5. I will plan more day trips with my family and enjoy life as much as possible. Life is way too short to get bogged down with BS.

I will hold myself accountable for all these intentions and my goal is to follow through with them.

How do you make time for yourself? I would really like to knows so please share.

This beautiful red dress that I’m wearing is from NA-KD. I love the high neck frill detail and the tie at the nape. The bodice of the dress is see-through so I wore it with a camisole underneath especially since I wore it to work.

I styled the dress in two ways with a denim jacket and the most comfortable flats EVER – perfect for fall, and without a jacket and nude sandals. What do you think of these looks? All items are linked below.

Shop this dress or other styles on the NA-KD site and use code GailG20 to receive a 20% discount at checkout.

This post was sponsored by NA-KD. All views and opinions are my own.

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