• I accidentally booked a stay at a resort in India that had very limited WiFi access.
• I panicked at first, especially since I planned on doing some work at night.
• Surprisingly, I adjusted quickly, and I'm thinking about ways to unplug on future trips.

Some people disconnect when they travel, but that's never been my style.

As a freelancer, I usually have to work while I'm on the move, and I also like having a way to stay in touch with family and friends back home.

I knew we'd be traveling to remote locations when my family did a tour of India with Intrepid Travel.

However, when we arrived at the Desert Resort in Mandala, I realized I'd failed to notice the fine print that WiFi would be extremely limited at this stop.

Surprisingly, I adjusted much more quickly than I expected

My first instinct was to panic when I learned that the resort intentionally doesn't provide WiFi in any of its guest rooms.

Even though we were only there for a couple of days, I was convinced my stay would be stressful and difficult without 24/7 access to the internet.

Shortly after arriving, I learned there were a few small areas with WiFi on the property and quickly scoped one of them out to answer a few emails that couldn't wait.

Then, instead of hunkering down to do more work like I might have otherwise, I put my computer back in my room and explored the resort.

To my surprise, my stress about the WiFi melted away quickly.

While my kids swam, I walked around the resort and marveled at its lovely buildings made out of mud and hand-painted by local artisans. I checked out the resort's collection of vintage cars, and before dinner, my kids joined me to get henna tattoos from a local artist.

Almost everyone else from our tour group was also out of their rooms — something that hadn't happened at any of our other stops.

It took being forced to unplug for me to really unwind and be present

At first, I wasn't prepared to give up my evening routine of responding to emails and catching up on work.

It may not be the most relaxing way to end the night on vacation, but I find that it's usually worth the trade-off so I don't fall too far behind when I get home.

I wouldn't be able to travel as much as I do if I couldn't work, at least a little, almost every day.

After dinner, instead of settling into my laptop, I grabbed a book and started reading under the stars. The kids played soccer and took turns on the resort's swings instead of heading off to scroll on their devices.

After a relaxing and restful evening where I was truly unplugged, I slept better than I had in a while. The next morning, without the pull of my computer calling to me, I woke up early to enjoy the sunrise.

I went on a short hike before waking my kids up for breakfast — it was the perfect way to start the day.

Unplugging ended up being such a gift

Although I was only at the Desert Resort for two days, it was enough to remind me that I don't need to be tethered to a phone or computer all the time.

I left vowing to be more intentional about when and how I use WiFi, especially while traveling. Although I haven't been perfect, I have a new understanding of the hold my devices really have over me and what I'm missing out on as a result.

Because of my career, I can't necessarily make staying in places with limited WiFi a habit, but I'm already eyeing another short stay at an unplugged resort this summer.

• I tried making five breakfast recipes in the air fryer to see how they'd turn out. 
• The bacon and French toast came out perfectly crispy and absolutely delicious. 
• Using the air fryer for all of the recipes also made cleanup significantly easier. 

The hype around air fryers is real, and in my opinion, this appliance makes everything from cooking to cleanup more convenient. 

In hopes of making my mornings easier, I tried cooking five classic breakfast recipes in the air fryer and rated each dish based on difficulty, flavor, and whether I'd make it again. 

Here's what I thought of each recipe — and which I plan to cook again.

I started out with bacon

This method for cooking bacon is so much easier than any other I've tried, and I can't believe I had never thought of it.

I placed a sheet of tinfoil under the appliance's grate to catch the grease for easy cleanup, laid out a single layer of bacon in both baskets, and air-fried the meat for 11 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, shaking it about halfway through. 

The bacon came out perfectly crispy

A breeze to make, this breakfast side had the perfect consistency. To be honest, I'll probably never cook bacon any other way again.

Best of all, there was no grease splattering or residual smokiness, and the cleanup was as easy as removing the grease-filled tinfoil liner.

Difficulty: 1/10

Flavor: 10/10

Would I make it again?: Absolutely.

Next, I made breakfast potatoes

The recipe I found for breakfast potatoes was tasty and simple.

All I did was peel and chop a russet potato, coat it in olive oil, and sprinkle it with paprika, onion and garlic powder, and salt.

After evenly combining the mix, I put the cubes in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, shaking halfway through.

These home fries came out a little overcooked

Since I only chopped one potato, the dish cooked quicker than the 20 minutes the recipe called for.

Although the cubes were a bit overcooked and burned in some spots, their flavor was delicious, and most of the pieces were a nice mix of crispy and crunchy.

Plus, this method was still way easier than making home fries in a skillet. Next time, I may add some diced bell peppers and onion for extra flavor.

Difficulty: 1/10

Flavor: 6/10

Would I make it again?: Yes, but I'd add a few ingredients and cook it for a shorter amount of time.

For my 3rd recipe, I whipped up eggs in a basket

I've never been a huge fan of eggs in a basket — also known as egg in a hole — because it seems like an unnecessary combo, and I prefer a full-sized toast with my breakfast spread.

That said, this go at it was much easier than the times I've made it in a pan.

First, I used a cup to make a hole in the bread, then sprayed the interior of the air fryer with cooking spray.

Once I got my bread in the appliance, I cracked an egg inside the hole and cooked it at 330 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping it after a few minutes to let the other side bake and add some cheese on top.

I thought the egg would seep through the holes in the grate and ruin the meal, but surprisingly, it held together nicely. 

The egg wasn't quite runny enough for my liking, but I still enjoyed it

The dish came out looking and tasting like it should, since only a little bit of the cooked egg had seeped through to the bottom of the air fryer basket.

Overall, it was delicious, but I wished the egg was a bit runnier. Next time, I'll only cook it for about two minutes per side.

Difficulty: 3/10

Flavor: 7/10

Would I make it again?: Yes.

Next, I tried making an air fryer frittata

The frittata recipe I found was unbelievably easy to make.

For this dish, I simply combined eggs, sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cheese, then whisked the mixture together with seasonings like paprika and garlic powder.

The recipe said to cook the eggs in a cake pan, but instead, I took the grate out and poured the frittata mix straight into the sprayed air fryer basket.

I then let it cook for 25 minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

It tasted amazing, and I would've never guessed it was made in an air fryer

This frittata came out with the perfect consistency. It was cheesy, delicious, and so easy to make.

Plus, it's a customizable dish you can add your favorite ingredients to. For next time, I'm already thinking of including bacon, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese.

Difficulty: 3/10

Flavor: 10/10

Would I make it again?: Yes, especially when cooking for guests.

For my final recipe, I attempted to make French toast

I'm a huge fan of French toast, but I hate when it gets too soggy or mushy inside, so I approached this method with caution.

To start, I whisked together melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl and made a mix of sugar and cinnamon in another.

Then, I cut the pieces of bread into three strips and quickly dipped each stick into the batter, liberally sprinkling both sides with the sweet crumble.

After I placed the sticks in the air fryer, careful not to crowd the basket, I let them cook for eight minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

I barely had to add syrup for this recipe to taste good

These French toast sticks came out so tasty, they barely needed syrup. In addition to having a delicious crispy exterior, they thankfully weren't soggy or mushy in the center. 

Plus, the sugar and cinnamon mixture gave each strip a delicate, caramelized crumble.

Difficulty: 2/10

Flavor: 10/10

Would I make it again: Yes.

All in all, I absolutely loved making these breakfast recipes in the air fryer

Using the air fryer truly made each recipe shine. Also, cleanup was a breeze, which I consider a huge bonus.

Once the food was in the appliance, I didn't have to worry about it or monitor it much at all.

I would 100% make these options again for any breakfast spread.

This story was originally published in February 2021 and most recently updated on February 28, 2025.

• A judge sided with Justin Baldoni in a phone records fight amid his legal battle with Blake Lively.
• Lively sought to subpoena Baldoni and his associates' phone records going back to 2022.
• The judge called the subpoenas "overly intrusive and disproportionate to the needs of the case."

Justin Baldoni scored a win in his fight to keep his phone records out of the ongoing legal battle with his "It Ends With Us" costar Blake Lively.

The Manhattan federal judge overseeing Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni and Baldoni's defamation countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, ruled Friday that Lively cannot subpoena Baldoni and his associates' phone records going back to 2022.

In a written order, US District Judge Lewis Litman called Lively's subpoenas for the phone data "overly intrusive and disproportionate to the needs of the case."

"Lively mainly argues that the Subpoenas will help to identify 'the larger network of individuals' who perpetuated a negative media campaign against her," the judge wrote. "But according to Lively's complaint, this negative campaign did not begin until approximately August 2024."

"It is therefore unclear how communications to and from" Baldoni and his associates "in 2022 and 2023 would reveal individuals who participated in the campaign," Litman wrote.

Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, hailed the judge's order as a "big win" for his client in a statement to Business Insider.

"The Court put a stop to Ms. Lively's egregious attempt to invade our clients' privacy," Freedman said, adding, "No matter how the Lively Parties may try to spin this decision, the Court saw their efforts for what they really are: a desperate fishing expedition intended to salvage their debunked claims long after they already savaged our clients' reputations in the New York Times."

A spokesperson for Lively questioned what Freedman is "hiding" in a statement to BI.

"After promising to release all the 'receipts,' Freedman ran into court to keep secret the phone records of who" Baldoni and the co-defendants named in Lively's suit, "were calling during their retaliatory campaign" against Lively, the spokesperson said.

"So, instead of getting these records from the phone carriers the way we initially requested, the judge has ruled that if we simply submit more specific requests, we will be able to get the records we are seeking. Today we will do that, we are submitting those requests directly to defendants involved and we look forward to seeing the records," the spokesperson said.

Lively's legal team first issued subpoenas earlier this month to AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for incoming and outgoing calls or texts messages going back to December 2022, but Baldoni's team quickly tried to block it. Lively narrowed the scope of those subpoenas, but Baldoni's team said it didn't go far enough.

The judge agreed, saying in his Friday ruling that the subpoenas issued by Lively's lawyers "implicates legitimate privacy interests."

Litman wrote that even though Lively has adjusted her requests "the phone records themselves would still contain sensitive information regarding which doctors, psychologists, or even acquaintances" Baldoni and his co-defendants "spoke to, and when."

Lively's lawsuit accuses Baldoni, who is also the director of "It Ends With Us," of sexual harassment on the set of the 2024 movie and of engaging in a retaliatory online smear campaign against her. Baldoni has denied the allegations.

The judge noted in his ruling that Lively's complaint already identifies "many individuals who allegedly participated in a negative media campaign."

Litman wrote that Lively's legal team "may make discovery requests tailored to those individuals" and that Lively "is permitted to use the tools of discovery to identify the contact information or telephone numbers for those individuals."

"Even assuming additional individuals participated in the alleged campaign, the hope that discovery will turn up information on such participants does not justify the broad scope of the Subpoenas," Litman wrote.

Though Litman ordered that the subpoenas "must be quashed to the extent they seek the phone records" of Baldoni and his codefendants — which include his production company, Wayfarer Studios, his fellow producers, and his publicists — the judge denied Baldoni's motion involving the portions of the subpoenas that seek the phone records of people not named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Baldoni's attorneys told the judge in a Friday letter that the subpoenas seek the phone records of employees of Wayfarer Studios.

"The Wayfarer Employees object to the Subpoenas for the same reasons set forth by the Wayfarer Parties," the letter read.

Litman ordered that Lively's legal team respond by March 4, saying no action would be taken while the motion is pending.