How to Start: ACTUALLY Vacationing

First time in a while! A week in St. Lucia :)

I remember going on my first vacation during my first “real job” and bringing my computer along. I felt like if I didn’t have to work while I was away, I wasn’t important (newsflash: I wasn’t important). I would literally open my computer and stare at a blank screen… I was in sales and helloooo if I wasn’t emailing or calling someone, no one was contacting me.

Once I started STIK, vacations meant working in a different place. STIK was (and always will be) my first baby. It took up 90% of my headspace at all times. And during the heyday, it was the absolute best. I was energized to reach out to new people, to get those big boosts from little wins, to draft up a wholesale order, or update the website.

Flash forward to having kids and this meant that while I was on “vacation” I was waking up early to bang out emails or telling them to be quiet while I took zoom calls with my team. Emails that came in were answered in minutes as I was constantly on my phone and if something was wrong - I had to jump in no matter what. I dreamt of what it would be like to close my computer and say, it’s not my problem!! But the blessing and the curse of business ownership meant that at the end of the day, it was always my problem.

Last year at this time, I went on spring break with my whole family and was taking calls with private equity firms from one of the bedrooms of our beach condo. The stress of selling my baby wracking my nerves and making it near to impossible to enjoy “vacation.” I remember crying at dinner thanking my family for being so supportive of me - needless to say, it was not a fun time.

So this year, I promised I would ACTUALLY take a vacation. I gave my clients a heads up that I was really going to be gone and no one seemed to mind!! Here are a few things I learned:

My Go-To bathing suit brand is Left On Friday!! Such great quality, really sucks you in, and fun colors!!

1. Say no to calls! Could have I taken a few calls during my daughter’s naps while I was away? Absolutely. Did I? I did not!! And guess what I did instead? I read a book by the pool!! Finally reading Tom Lake and loving it. It was also so helpful to have Lanae monitoring my inbox and keeping the lights on while I was gone.

2. Core Four. Another new thing for me/my family: we traveled without a set of grandparents for the first time! I was really nervous to do this as I still feel like a child myself. How were we going to manage the logistics? Who was grocery shopping? What was the dinner plan? But you know what? We survived and had such a great time. While I absolutely love big family and friend time, I do think it’s important for my little family to establish our own traditions and memories. I think my kids loved having our total attention and we really soaked in the “no plan plan.” Each day blurred into the next - consisting of breakfast, beach, nap, pool, easy dinner, bed.

3. Leave your phone in the room! One thing I’m going to do next time is buy a digital camera to bring to the beach. No more excuse of bringing my phone to take pics when really it means a quick Instagram scroll in between goldfish and splashing in the waves. I put my phone down to race Campbell on the beach or swim with Harriet for hours.

4. Get a babysitter and spend time with your spouse!! While yes, it hurts to hand over a wad of cash every time you leave the house, it’s really important to have day-dates and nights out. Alex and I played golf and while I felt bad about leaving the girls for a few hours, I also knew that they would be fine and that Alex and I would not forget the day out together. We have such busy lives and it’s an important reminder to nurture our relationship, too!

5. No plan is a good plan! Most days consisted of waking up, making breakfast, head to the beach, home to nap, afternoon pool swim, and a pizza on the beach for the girls. I loved that the days blurred into the next and we didn’t “should” ourselves with activities. Our kids just want to play with us and have our full attention.

6. DON’T WEAR AQUAFOR IN THE SUN!!! Omg I’ve never been in more pain!! I was reading in the sun during Harriet’s nap and put some aquafor on… turns out this is a thing girls do on TikTok to plump up their lips. Do not recommend. But I will admit, the healing process turning into a pouty lip is kinda fun…

7. YPB is for moms too?! Before leaving, I dipped into Your Personal Best to see if they had bathing suits. They did not - but I did stumble upon their exercise dresses and if I wasn’t wearing a bathing suit, I was wearing this (in navy/white stripes) or this (even wore this out to a casual dinner one night with Alex). Totally obsessed!!

8. Take some ME time, too! Each morning I got up early and ran over to the gym or took a walk on the beach. I loved getting some movement in for me before starting the day - so that I could feel my best… it’s important!!

   

Both Alex and I came home from this trip feeling REFRESHED and relaxed. We had the best time and are so obsessed with our little girls. My arm also hurts from holding Harriet so much, so I will admit I was happy to see our nanny on Thursday morning!!

XO!

Christina