My Morning: Diana from exPress-o On Morning Routines

Sometimes I’m left overwhelmed by the sheer number of interesting articles, new blogs and cool products out there. What is the key to keep up with all of this? And how to decide, what is actually worth my time?
Making that choice becomes easy, when you follow one of those talented bloggers crawling the web for you, handing you their best finds on a silver platter. But not every curator is as adept in the high art of selecting content as Diana at exPresso. With each of her mails delivered straight to my inbox she draws me into a new world time after time. Ever since subscribing to her regular updates there has rarely a post I didn’t read!

Lucky me, I was invited to tell my own story on Diana’s blog, as part of her inspiring interview series Food For Thought. With the help of other food bloggers she paved the way for a reflective discussion on different ways of eating healthy. Ashley spoke about her holistic approach, Sherrie introduced us to her gluten-free diet and Drea explained, what it feels like to be vegan. And you can probably guess what I talked about! 😉
Today it’s Diana’s turn and I couldn’t be happier to have her drop in at my virtual breakfast table. Get inspired by her way of staying on top of things and how she manages to take good care of herself, while moving between different time zones!

Good morning Diana! Let’s get to know you!
Hey, I’m Diana. By day, I’m a lifestyle blogger at a pretty popular blog exPress-o. I also teach seasonal cooking and write in between. I like to say that I am a “working progress” who enjoyed the ride 🙂 Together with my partner in crime of 13 years, Balazs, we share our time between US and Europe, which makes our life that much more fun (and frantic at times). I turned 33 this summer and I’m all about simple, minimal and natural lifestyle – full of tiny little pleasures and clean-eating. I only discovered my passion for food when I turned 29. At that time, I slowly started to develop food allergies and skin problems that I never struggled with before. This made me realize it was time to take control over what I put into my body and shift things drastically. I believe in eating everything in moderation but in the healthiest and freshest way possible, and coffee – yup, my one bad habit that I can’t get rid of! I’m often asked if I am a vegetarian, since I don’t eat much meat but in reality I just prefer fish.

‘Morning Glory’ or ‘My Life Nightlife’?
I’ve been thinking how to answer this question because I’m neither. Since, we travel a lot, I developed this schedule of keeping time between two different parts of the globe. So in essence, I get up super early but I also go to sleep very late depending where we are. Ever since starting exPress-o, I developed a soft spot for those quiet mornings when I can just do Pilates in my own living room, tiptoe to the kitchen to brew myself a cup of coffee and settle in front of my screen before the rest of the crew awakes. Those few hours before Balazs wakes up, the dogs start begging for a walk and the emails start pouring in, are the most productive for me! Having said that, I also love late nights when I feel tired and inspired from all the days’ work and ready to just sit, listen to music, watch a good film or have a dinner with friends.

What’s the first thing you do/see, when you open your eyes?
We live in an open plan flat so when I wake up, the first thing I do is gaze at our windows trying to figure out what the weather might be like. Next, I glance on my phone to see what’s going on in the big world and make my way to the kitchen.

What’s your morning routine?
I have one of those routines that make no sense to our friends who work 9 to 5 jobs. Since, Balazs and I are both freelancers and we work from home, we can easily stick to it. I usually wake up super early, have a glass of water and workout. I started to drink water in the mornings since I read how good it is for you. So I tend to mix it up with lemon or mint – depending on what I have on hand that day. Next is a quick shower. While coffee is brewing I often find myself lust over instagram goodness for a bit before I feel the full effect of my caffeine kick. By then I settle down by my desk and work for an hour or two before Balazs wakes up, we take our dogs for a walk and have breakfast.

If I don’t … in the morning, my day is ruined/over before it even started.
If I don’t workout in the morning, my day is ruined. I think my need to do something for my body in the morning is very much guilt driven. Over the years I realized that the only way I can truly enjoy exercise is by doing it in the morning when I don’t have the time to think about it and figure out excuses why not to do it. Plus, I love the feeling of achievement first thing in the morning.

Coffee or tea or …?
Boy, my British mom will be very disappointed with my answer, but coffee, always and forever 🙂

Breakfast is…
…is usually a bowl of overnight oatmeal topped with fruits and nuts (Here is the full recipe for it). When I feel like celebrating, I have a soft boiled egg with a toast.

What type of breakfast is sure to get you on your feet?
Anything that involves natural yogurt and fruits will do the trick for me. I try to stay away from anything heavier than that, and save things like French toast or poached eggs with avocado for dinner. There is nothing better than dinner breakfast-style, is there?

A perfect morning (includes)…
…enjoying cup of coffee (here I am again), Eucalyptus stream shower, a walk to a florist to stock up on fresh flowers and a sweet email (or two) from our readers.

Which product is a morning essential?
When it comes to food, I try to buy only fresh products that are local and often organic. I shy away from anything that has a plastic packaging and tons of additives that I can’t pronounce. The same goes for beauty products. Recently, I swapped the high street favourites for natural, holistic goodies that I use daily. I swear by African black soap, this Aloe Vera toner and my newest favourite is Amber pumpkin seed face cream and Egyptian Magic healing skin cream.

What does your partner, roommate, family say/think about your ‘morning self’?
Balazs and I are pretty in sync with each other. After so many years together, we managed to develop a routine that works best for us both. Since he is more productive at night, he tends to work late or stay up longer than I do, but in the same time he can sleep in longer while I get a head start on my work. Our schedule is not ‘normal‘ by any means, but it works just fine for us.

Thanks so much for having me, Deniz and thank you all you wonderful people for reading! xo

Thank you for this wonderful insight into your daily routine Diana!
If you enjoyed what you are reading please make sure to follow Diana on Twitter, Instagram and her gorgeous blog!