In addition to making a commitment to certain lifestyle changes like regular workouts, going back to work, and guided mediation (which I wrote all about in my latest for Austin Moms Blog), I am also trying to be intentional about my morning routine in particular. I skip an alarm altogether and sleep as long as possible –until about 7 a.m.– when woken by my baby boy. –I’m starting to see that I really should to start waking up around 6 to get my day going the right way! Ugh. But until then, at the suggestion of motivational speaker Ed Mylett, one thing crazy thing I’ve started doing is taking a cold shower in the mornings. Actually, it’s just 30 seconds of cold water at the end, but he says it activates your body and helps you feel alive. –I’ve been doing it for about a week now and I can attest that it works — definitely an effective wake up call! Here are some other new additions to my morning routine:

1. Glow-Giving Serum: Beautytap, the premier destination for Korean beauty education, advice, content, community, and premium luxury beauty products, has just unveiled Afterglow Ampoule, the first release from its luxury product line: AZN Labs. The “Seoul” of this line was designed with three core concepts in mind: ingredients, science, and effectiveness. Afterglow Ampoule represents the perfect combination of J-Beauty & K-Beauty, thanks to the use of traditional floral ingredients found in the best K-beauty products, and the careful use of Astaxanthin, a vibrant red keto-carotenoid naturally created in rainwater microalgae and containing 6,000% the potency of Vitamin C. Astaxanthin is traditionally used in Japanese beauty products for its anti-aging properties.
2. Local honey with CBD: Grassroots Harvest, an Austin-based company that makes all kinds of high-end CBD products, sent me their newest offering: honey infused with CBD! Grassroots Harvest offers high-quality, sustainably sourced solutions that are crafted in small batches.  This little honey pot contains of 100% organic hemp-derived CBD and raw Central Texas honey. For anyone in the area, I love the added bonus of it being local honey, too! #allergies –Adding this as the sweetener to my morning coffee gives me an anxiety-free start to the day.
3. Breakfast Bars that are actually good: Ideally, the convenience of a grab-n-go breakfast bar would be perfect for my busy mornings. But here’s the catch: I just can’t choke ’em down — I don’t like most of them on the market. These new bars by Dang Foods are different: not too sweet, not too crumbly, not a candy bar in disguise. Dang Bars are low carb, Keto-approved, and plant-based. With cocoa butter, coconut, almond butter and chia seeds, this low carb bar fits the ideal macros for the Keto diet: 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% net carbs. Now, I’m not personally following the Keto diet but can definitely appreciate the healthful aspects of it. I am happy to have found a bar that is actually tasty & satisfying as an on-the-go breakfast solution.