#OneDayHH 2019

I’ve been participating in #OneDayHH for six Novembers. Led by one of my favorite podcasters, Laura Tremaine, it’s an annual hour-by-hour capture of a regular day in your life. You’re supposed to post your day on Instagram in real time, but for several reasons, I always save it up and blog the whole thing later. When Laura announced that this year’s One Day would be November 15, I knew it wouldn’t be a “normal” day due to a staycation we had planned. So I decided to document the previous day instead, and it’s taken me this long to put it together.

Past years: 2013 // 2014 // 2015 // 2016 // 2017 // 2018
 

Thursday, November 14, 2019

5:06 am: Wake up. Yes, I still wake up to a real clock that I’ve had since college. My cat Rufus leaves his spot on my legs to make sure I’m up. I lavish him with pets.

5:10: In the cold months, when heat is coming out, Rufus and I both love living in a house with floor vents.

5:30: Arrive at the gym (a big upgrade from last year’s gym!) for 50 minutes on my cardio machine of choice, the AMT machine. It’s like an elliptical but burns more calories. I finish watching A Wrinkle in Time.

6:25: A pretty row of red trees outside.

6:30: Get home, start the coffee. My friend Rachel gave me this coffee spoon and spoon rest for my bridal shower, and it’s one of my favorite (and most-used) things.

6:45: Showered and getting ready. This is my current hair product rotation and my morning skincare products. I have a bunch of trial size moisturizers and rarely use the same one two days in a row (my skin is oily, so I only need moisturizer around my eyes).

7:05: Put my face on.

7:20: Make the bed. Taylor gave me this creature last Valentine’s Day. We’re not sure what it is – my guess is a dog with a little gorilla DNA.

7:30: Head to work. Most mornings, Taylor cooks breakfast for me ♥ but there wasn’t time today, so it’s my old standby of Bar in the Car. I cue up the new episode of my other favorite podcast, Forever35.

8:02: Arrive at my desk on the 9th floor. As usual, I won’t be able to document the substantial parts of my workday due to, you know, confidentiality.

(not my view)

9:50: While my computer is forced to reboot, I finish my coffee and start my cup of hot tea. This mug warmer Taylor gave me is a game changer.

10:00: I refuse to quit my analog, non-monogrammed Filofax. Here’s what this week looks like.

10:10: Timehop has me reminiscing with Kathy and Daniel about our old Tiger basketball days up in the rafters.

10:35: BREAKING NEWS in the James Wiseman case, which was the main topic of discussion in the Clay household the weekend he was deemed ineligible. This news doesn’t worry me because I assume it means they’ve reached a fair settlement. (Spoiler alert: nope.)

12:05 pm: Annual elevator selfie! I’m wearing a thrifted wrap dress that I think is Ann Taylor, my favorite Steve Madden boots, and a coat that was one of the few scores in a year or so of StitchFix.

12:10: I don’t feel like going far for lunch, so I’m walking over to our campus café for a salad. This garage walkway is blustery and never sees the sun, and is therefore one of the coldest places on earth. I walk quickly, get my usual table, and have the daily reading time necessary for my health. I’m finishing Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana White.

1:00: A carpet of yellow leaves.

1:30: The salad was not enough. Time for some mixed nuts.

2:00: That wasn’t enough either. I have a string cheese and finally feel satisfied.

3:00: My desk plants! This crown of thorns plant is very healthy, but weird office lighting has it growing horizontally. I also have an unidentified vine from IKEA on top of my file cabinet.

4:45: This is my work bag. It’s Vera Bradley in Watercolor (retired in 2012). I got it back then for traveling, then enlisted it for everyday when my last work bag fell apart.

5:00: Leaving, but not headed home…

5:35: Meeting my mom for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Casablanca! I never thought I would love an iced tea more than McAlister’s, but Casablanca’s tea is better. (I daydream about this tea. I’ve repeatedly tried and failed to replicate it at home.) We get the hummus and mixed shawarma salad to share.

6:20: My brother and sister both call one after the other, which is nice. Debra and I talk every day, but she didn’t have time for our usual morning call today (rushed mornings all around), so we briefly catch up now.

7:00: My mom comes with me to see my boss MiMi’s son play Olaf in a local kids’ production of Frozen! It’s an entertaining show and I think he’s the most talented kid up there, not that I’m biased or anything.

8:46: On my way home and rocking out to my favorite song from sixth grade.

9:20: Home at last. Watch some of NOVA with Taylor and Rufus. I recently ordered these blue and white pillow covers thinking they could be Euro shams for our bed. The size was way off (I have spatial awareness problems), but I loved them too much to return them, so now they’re throw pillow covers.

9:23: Elizabeth Esther often tweets this around bedtime, and I have never not needed it when I saw it.

10:30: I’m still up and about later than usual because I got home so late. This is my evening skincare routine. Oh, and I use CeraVe cleanser for oily skin morning and night. Not pictured: I recently cut myself off from disposable cotton pads and am now exclusively using washable fabric rounds.

10:50: Since getting married and living in a new place, I’ve struggled to keep a consistent bedtime routine. As a result, I’m always playing catch-up with One Line a Day. I try not to leave blanks, which usually means going back and filling in several days at a time. PS, I used to be hardcore about No Christmas Before Thanksgiving, but this year I’m already enjoying a few little things, like Christmas cat pajama pants.

10:59: Taylor starts our nightly episode of The Office. I’m usually asleep within ten minutes.

11:00: On that note, zzzzzzzzz.