When Nestle Pure Life Exotics reached out and asked me if I wanted to partner with them on this project I was super pumped.
Allow me to explain why. A little over a year ago I got really sick. I was anemic, I had low blood pressure and I was battling vertigo… it was really, really bad. I was pretty out of it for a couple of months which doesn’t really work when you have a business to run and three little boys to take care of. One of the things I did to get control of my health again was change my diet. I cut out loads of sugar, switched to lean proteins, healthy carbs and made sure I always had snacks on hand to keep my blood sugar levels up. And, as much as it seemed like a total impossibility at the time, I cut out all soda from my life. At the time I will admit, I was totally addicted to Diet Coke (I would drink several a day) and I begin to notice that every time I drank one my symptoms got worse. I felt dizzy, I felt sick; I’d had enough and I quit cold-turkey. The first couple of weeks were tough and in the absence of soda I turned to sparkling water. There was something about the fizzy drink in a can that tricked my brain into thinking I was having the soda I craved. A year later and I only drink water, sparkling water and black coffee and I can’t tell you how much better I feel!
So like I said, when they reached out about me trying their sparkling water made without artificial colors or sweeteners I was pumped because I wanted to be able to share this idea with you too. I figured that between all their cool flavors (like mango peach pineapple or strawberry dragon fruit) y’all might consider it as a substitute for your own soda habits. And then came the kicker, they asked if I could come up with an idea for a post that fit in with their summer campaign of Exotic Escape. I chuckled a little to myself at the time… Exotic Escape? Don’t they know I have three kids? Don’t they know I have a company to run and books on deadline? Don’t they know our sewer line is broken and we’ve had the plumber out twice this month?? There’s nothing exotic about any of those things! And then it occurred to me, moms like us, we need an exotic escape more than almost anybody!
An exotic escape doesn’t have to be a day at the beach or an afternoon with a Brazilian helicopter pilot (What? Am I the only one who ever imagined that??) an escape can be a little thing that you do for yourself in the midst of the chaos of every day life. For me, that meant changing my diet and getting healthy even though there were a thousand other things demanding my attention. For me that means, stocking the fridge with things that are better for me and my family.
For you an exotic escape might be a trip to the grocery store (alone for a change!) or booking a pedicure with your girlfriends. It might mean taking a long run or getting in some much needed time with your favorite yoga DVD. Or heck, maybe you’re married to a Brazilian helicopter pilot and your escape is way cooler than the rest of ours! But for the rest of you ladies who might need a little help with our own getaway, scroll down to the bottom to enter our giveaway for a really fabulous bag filled with all sorts of fun things to get your stay-cation started.
The only thing that matters is that you take a minute for yourself whenever you can. Life — real life — is always going to be tough so take the chance for indulgence whenever you can.
I was selected for this opportunity by Nestle Pure Life Exotics and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Enter the giveaway below to win your own version of our Exotic Escape bag featured in the photo above. xo, Rachel
