Like many professional women, I was taught that if you take on a commitment, you live up to it.  In my older years, however, I’ve realized that sometimes you have to ask if the follow-through is worth the cost.  If your work is costing you your mental health and putting you in a position where you are asked to act contrary to your values, should you keep going?

Last week, I decided that the answer was no.

Earlier this year, I accepted a job managing a local campaign.  Over time, it became obvious that my advice was falling on deaf ears.  When I realized that the candidate had a very different vision of how the campaign should proceed, I demoted myself from manager to communications director.  But even that drastic step couldn’t stop the hourly nightmares that kept me from sleeping or the churning ulcer that burned me to my core.

Eventually, I accepted that staying with the campaign was detrimental to my mental and physical health.  Making the decision to leave was one of the most challenging moments of my career.  But when you work in politics, you’re responsible for the people you help put into office, and I didn’t want my talents backing someone I eventually felt uncomfortable supporting.

I feel guilty about leaving because I made a commitment, but I know it was the right thing for me.  So today is a new beginning, a fresh start.  And with just 60-days until my wedding (what?!?!), it feels like a good time to put myself and my priorities first.

The Dagne Dover Hunter Toiletry Bag is a lifesaver.  I own the extra large and the small and this gorgeous, earthy Dune color.  The bags are roomy, spill resistant, easy clean, and have great pockets and pouches to keep things organized.

The bags also come in 12 other colors, so you can choose the one that best reflects your personality.  I’ve owned mine for almost a year and they still look new after many spills and trips.  Highly recommend.

Prefer leather pouches?  Dagne Dover also makes this shape in leather.  I love the sea mist hue with the contrasting black hardware.

When I was younger, I would wander the aisles at the Barnes and Noble and admire the beautiful covers on the wedding magazines.  Fast forward to 2019, and the wedding industrial complex has made most of the once-admired glossies unbearable.

Enter Inside Weddings.

Loaded with galleries and wedding ideas, not to mention helpful etiquette tips, Inside Weddings is the only one that provides actual inspiration.  Yes, some of the weddings are on the eye-poppingly opulent side of things, but even those give you an idea or two for your own celebration.  Because I don’t need 18-month-long “wedding ready” skincare routines or photos of $4,000-per-night hotel suites in Bora Bora.  I just need a little inspiration.

Humidity getting you down?  My hair needs to be out of my face, and off of my shoulders, STAT.

This adorable brass hair tie from Of a Kind is quickly becoming my go-to solution for summer hair issues.  I also grabbed these delicate oval clips from Anthropologie for any flyaways.  And for a sleek half-up style, this tortoise clip from Need Supply Co. caught my eye.

I’m always on the hunt for easy summer desserts, and Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Sheet Cake is definitely in season.  I love the mix of ripe fruit with buttery cake for a crowd-pleasing dessert.  And this one couldn’t be simpler to make and serve.

My one tip?  Buy a strawberry huller.

{this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author; Dagne Dover sent me the XL makeup bag as a gift, and I purchased the small one later with my own cash because they’re that good}