This Week's Links And More: June 17

My favorite picture of the week.

This week has been a fruitful one. I am trying to get better with folding in real life into my every day work life. I forget sometimes that I have the flexibility to make my schedule whatever it needs to be. I took longer, outdoor lunch breaks this week. I went into the city for lunch with my boyfriend one day. I took more walks. I keep feeling like I’m on the cusp of a lot of new beginnings and I think my decisions are reflecting the peace I’m feeling in my day-to-day life. I hope you’re finding peace in your days too. Now, onto this week’s links.

Embrace Ambition Summit

Earlier this week I listened in on Tory Burch’s Embrace Ambition Summit while I worked. The conversations were so inspirational and timely. There was a panel on caregiving, a conversation between Eva Chen and Min Jin Lee, and a keynote by Tory Burch. You can watch the full live stream here but they also have individual videos of each conversation on their YouTube.

Should I have kids?

I don’t know and it turns out the answer doesn’t really know either (particularly when you google that exact question), BUT it did lead me to this really great article — "I help people decide if they want to have kids. Here’s my advice.” The writer is a parenthood clarity therapist, which let me tell you is exactly who I was looking for. I loved how she separated the concepts of desire and decision. It’s something that I hadn’t been able to clearly articulate until reading this. I’ll be working on the exercises and talking about them in therapy. Sharing just in case others are feeling the “wait, this is something I should think about for myself, huh?” pull.

Modern fertility, round 2

I swear, my fertility isn’t the only thing on my mind right now, it just happens to be lining up perfectly. I wrote about my Modern Fertility experience a year ago and am placing an order for a second test this weekend. I’m interested in seeing how different my levels may be now that I’ve been off birth control (for mental health reasons) since last fall. The last time I tested I was only able to test for a limited number of hormone levels because of the birth control. If you’ve been interested in trying MF, here’s a $20 off code.

Father’s day

I know this weekend can be very hard for those who have lost fathers or have fractured relationships with their dad. This week’s Happy To Be Here Podcast episode is with David Kessler, grief expert and fellow griever. He shares his experience losing his son and how his career has helped him find a new dictionary for discussing what happens with life after a loss. You can listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Are you buying Rhode SKIN?

I’m ordering one of each to try out for a bit before I give a full review, but what sold me on trying it was this breakdown on Well + Good by two dermatologists. I have really dry skin that’s going through a rollercoaster since coming off birth control, so I’m picky and have a pretty stripped down routine right now as a result. I’ve been focused on healing my skin and getting it into a good flow, I like that Rhode seems to specifically cater to improving your skin’s natural texture.