Daily joys
The little things that bring me comfort and joy.
In partnership with Barefaced
I thrive in routine. Truly, embarrassingly so. The tiny rituals I keep for myself every single day are what keep me sane, sparkly, and (I’m praying) somewhat preserved as I march toward 40 like it personally insulted me.
Let me be clear: I am not aging gracefully. I have no plans to. I am vain and I am truly freaked out when I see the youth disappear from my face. The skincare, the rituals, the small indulgences, the borderline unhinged commitment to my own little routines? Not frivolous. Load bearing.
Motherhood is not a sentence to martyrdom. It’s wonderful, and chaotic, and full of people who genuinely require things from me at all hours. Which is exactly why the little things I do for myself are non negotiable. They are mine. They are sacred. They are, frankly, the reason I am pleasant to be around.
Below are some of the small, slightly ridiculous, deeply satisfying things I’ve been doing lately that bring me real joy and pull my spark back when the noise gets loud. Tell me yours. Consider this a coordinated effort to stay hot, happy, and slightly delusional in the best possible way.
My morning workouts have become law. Younger me would be appalled, as I was famously not a morning person and used to shove workouts into the middle of my day like an afterthought. The older I get, the more I crave the quiet of a world that hasn’t woken up yet. There’s something almost holy about it. By the time I get home, I feel like a new woman, and I get to walk in, wake up Carmela and Carlo, and start the day already poured into. Also, I’m busy, it needs to get done before 9.
A real skincare routine, morning and night, is non optional in this house. Lately I’m fully obsessed with Barefaced’s Liquid Gold Serum in the morning and the Toning Pads at night. The serum is packed with Vitamin C and makes my skin look annoyingly glowy. The pads pull off so much leftover gunk that thinking about all the years I went to bed without them makes me want to lie down forever. I want to inject their Clean Slate Spritz into my veins. I spray it first thing in the morning, after every workout, after doing kid stuff, and before I apply my serums at night. It kills bacteria and somehow leaves my skin hydrated. Witchcraft.
Yes, everyone is doing red light therapy masks. They are doing them because the masks are extremely good. Pores, the ongoing war against aging, all of it. But honestly, my favorite part is that it forces me to lie down and shut up for a little while. The red glow has become soothing in a way I refuse to explain. The science behind is also just incredible. I’m using this one from Higher Dose and it is amazingggg.
Family dinners. No matter how feral mine and Davide’s schedules get, we make a point to cook together and sit down with the kids. The ritual is sacred, partly for them and frankly mostly for us. It turns my work brain off in the best way and lets me focus on my people. It was an important part of both of our childhood’s and I’m proud to keep the tradition.
My daily supplements make me feel like I’m quietly winning. I know I will never shut up about Fatty15, but it really does give you everything you need and has proactive benefits I am too charmed by to fact check. I’m still on my hair journey, so I take Nutrafol (when I remember, which is generously half the time), plus Cymbiotika’s Vitamin C when I’m feeling like I need a little extra glow from the inside.
A good playlist softly playing through the house sounds insane until you try it. I almost always have my Very Baroncini Spring playlist drifting through the rooms and it raises the vibration of the entire home. Try it once. You’ll never go back.
Pushing myself to learn something new every single day, even something tiny, makes me feel hotter. Sometimes it’s a chapter of a book before bed, sometimes it’s a long phone call with a girlfriend, sometimes it’s whatever Carmela and Carlo are casually teaching me by existing. My personal favorite is a really good educational podcast during a commute (shameless plug, ETITB pod). Learning something new, no matter how small, makes me feel smarter and more interesting and, of course, hotter.
Before I say goodbye… I released a new solo episode on EVERYTHING IS THE BEST just a few days ago on my journey with motherhood. Davide and I made becoming parents such an intentional decision, and the way we parent makes it so that we don’t lose ourselves in the process. There are some non-negotiables that we commit ourselves to so that we can make this happen. Sleep training, some not-so-fun boundaries, the list goes on. Listen to the full episode on a deeper dive into it all.
With love, Pia Baroncini
