Jet lag can be a real bugger.  Especially if you’re like me and you can’t take another day off to recover.  Because my holidays (other than summer) are limited I maximize my time away forcing me to return the night before I work. I’m not going to lie it frickin sucks but that’s just life.  Anyways, because I’ve done it a fair few times, I seem to be getting better at adjusting.

5 Tips to Help Kick Jet Lag’s A$s

1.) The moment you step on the plane, pretend you’re already in the time zone you’re entering.  So for me when I fly to Sydney it’s always always out of Vancouver and it’s always the red eye.  The flight typically leaves around 11pm my time, which means it’s 4pm Australian time (depending on the time of year).  So, when I step on the plane I make myself stay up for a least 5 hours this takes me to 9pm Aussie time.  I typically grab a coffee in the Vancouver airport, some LEGIT snacks, and settle in for a couple of good movies.  After that, I take a Gravol (obviously use your discretion with this… it’s not for everyone, maybe consult your doctor!) and I try my best to sleep the rest of the way.  I do the same thing for the way home except the exact opposite (sleep at the beginning of the flight and then try to stay awake the second half of the trip) which is really hard.  It is hard to fall asleep when you’ve just slept but try your best.  I’m gonna be honest this last trip home was rough. I didn’t sleep as much as I normally do.  

2.) Try your best to get a workout in as soon as you can.  My favourite thing to do when I arrive in a new city is go for a walk or run.  There is literally no better way to get yourself familiar with a new place than to stroll the streets.  I find the jet lag much easier to handle on the way to my destination.  For obvious reasons, I am on a high when I land in Sydney so it isn’t typically that hard to stay awake, but let me tell you the way home is a totally different story.  I am legit exhausted from sobbing most of the flight home (LOL -long distance probs) and trust me it’s a lot less exciting coming home to -40 and work.  I love what I do, but vacations are awesome.  In order to force myself to get a workout in the day after I land I try to schedule it before I leave.  That way it is less than 24 hours to cancel and I am forced to go.  I try to go to a class right after work, which is SO hard, but if it’s too close to bedtime it just wakes me up.  I don’t push myself too hard because I am literally exhausted, but trust me when I say it feels amazing to be able to move and stretch your body. It will also make you that much more tired at night when your body clock is ready to wake up again.  If you’re not big into fitness or going to workout classes try a yoga class or even just a big stretch on your own.  

3.) Drink a tonne of water before, during, and after the flight.  Not only does this help give you energy it also adds the hydration back into your skin, keeps your immune system up, and hell drinking a little extra water is never a bad idea. 

4.) Get lots of sleep the night before you fly out.  I find this hard to do as I want to stay up late and spend as much time as I can with AB before I go, but it really does make a difference.  With any luck you’ll be able to get some sleep on the plane but it just isn’t the same.  If you’re able to get a good sleep the night before you’ll be playing less catch up when you get home. 

5.) Whatever you do, don’t let yourself sleep during the wrong time.  You’re going to want to take a nap but just don’t… and if you absolutely have to make it 20 minutes, max. Keep yourself busy, especially right after you get home from work.  For me anyways, I want to crawl into bed as soon as I get home on a normal days as I am exhausted so you can imagine the feeling when I am jet lagged.   Drink a coffee (no later than 4pm for me- you know your body best), hang out with your friends, get groceries, cook a good meal, clean your fridge lol, whatever it takes just make yourself stay away until at LEAST 8pm but also not too late.  I almost always get a second wind around 9 so right before then I start to get myself ready for bed.  A hot bath, some melatonin (these are my favourite), and some reading usually does the trick.  

Again, these are just the tips that help me! Honestly, I am typically over jet lag in a few days.  I hit the ground running when I get home and it works for me!

Am I missing any tips? How do you deal with jet lag?

The post 5 Tips to Beat Jet Lag appeared first on Teach Me Style - A style, beauty and life blog..

Anyways, back on track.  I’m here to give you all the details on my latest obsession: this denim jacket. I found it a few weeks back and I have been wearing it non stop ever since.  I had been looking for one fore quite some time and this one checked off all the boxes:
-not cropped
-not too boxy
-just the right color
-and just the right price (under $65!!)

It has been absolutely perfect to throw on while bumping around down here so I’m sure you’ll be seeing it in my stories!

Until next time… cheers, Mate!

The post The Perfect Denim Jacket appeared first on Teach Me Style - A style, beauty and life blog..

First things first: yes, I travelled to Australia for just 11 days. For those of you who don’t really know me you may think this is odd, but those who know me well would say “oh, that’s such a Holly thing to do!” I am a very spontaneous person and I thrive off adventures, especially when it comes to travel. Fellow teachers who are curious about how I got time off, I only took two days! Our division had Good Friday and the following week off for spring break. I then used one personal day and took one day at cost of sub. So, I left Friday March 30th, returned on Tuesday, April 11th and was back at work the very next day. Am I jet lagged and exhausted? Yes!!! Was it worth it? ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!!!
So, if you follow me on IG and you watch my stories then you will know I was ON THE GO!  I technically only had ten days to explore so I didn’t want to waste a minute.

First stop:
Noosa, Queensland
Where we stayed: Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas
Would I recommend this place? Yes, I loved staying here!  We stayed in a one bedroom apartment style room and it was perfect!  I prefer to stay in apartment style places.  Having a mini kitchenette, in room laundry, and mini appliances like a tea kettle for my bedtime tea or a fridge to chill my wine, makes it so cozy! Oh and how could I forget, quite possibly the best part of staying… breakfast was included! And when I say breakfast I mean like full on, freaking amazing breakie! I’m typically not one to eat a lot in the morning but I couldn’t help myself it was that good!

What we did:
Day 1:  I arrived around noon and after travelling for 24 hours I was pretty tired so obviously I was in desperate need of a coffee.  I had been hearing a lot about Australian soy cappuccinos so I was dying to try one… it did not disappoint! After crushing a coffee and some coconut water (I always feel SO dehydrated after flying) we checked into the hotel, I quickly freshened up and we headed out to explore.  We headed straight for the beach and I was in awe, little did I know every beach I would go to would be more beautiful than the last.  The best word I can come up with to describe the beaches in Australia is grand.  I just found them to be so vast and of course, beautiful!!!  Of course this prairie girl was eager, (hesitant of sharks LOL) but SO eager, to dip her toes in the water!  Maybe it was the 24 hour travel day but it felt incredible… so refreshing.

We then headed back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.  We went to Seasons and it was fantastic!  Great views and the food was amazing. If you have the opportunity to eat here you MUST try the scallop ramen dish… mind blowing!
By this time I was feeling pretty exhausted and so I called it a day.
Day 2:
We fueled up on breakie at our hotel and then headed out on a coastal walk.  This was by far my favourite thing we did in Noosa.  We went into the Noosa National Park and stumbled upon beach after beach and more amazing views than I can count.  We even made our way to the famous Fairy Pools– they were packed with tourists but still SO cool to see.  I highly recommend you seek them out but I would suggest waking up early to hit them up before anyone else!
This took us nearly the whole day and by the time we returned to the hotel we were tired!  We had a bit of a rest and then went for another amazing dinner at Locale.  I had the risotto and it was delicious, you’re going to be hearing that a lot, we had so many amazing meals!
Day 3:  I woke up feeling not so hot which made me feel so sad!!  I tried to push through but I just wasn’t feeling good.  We walked around the town, went to the beach, and just relaxed by the pool which was  so lovely considering we were so busy the day before.  Of course, we went out for another nice dinner this time at a place called  Sum Yung Guys at Sunshine Beach and although I wasn’t feeling all that well I did have a few bites…WOW is all I have to say.  I was SO sad I wasn’t feeling up to eating because it was amazing!!!

The next morning we woke up early, filled up on that great breakie and then hit the road for Byron Bay!
Stay tuned for part 2, I’ll be sharing more of my Aussie adventures!

The post Australia Recap: Part 1 Noosa appeared first on Teach Me Style - A style, beauty and life blog..