Last week when I was chatting with Beth Hopkins of Shamanuti for an article I wrote for Well Insiders, we got to talking about the things that brought us the most joy as a little girl. Beth told the most beautiful story of how at just five years old, her and her cousin would make floral waters to sell to friends of her grandparents and the local community of the Gardener’s Cottage she grew up in. Each year, she’d wait for the violets and lilacs to bloom, since those made the loveliest waters.

Little did she know that years later her passion for hand-crafting floral waters would lead to the start of her business, Shamanuti, which specializes in natural products utilizing plant-based ingredients found in nature.

It’s funny how our passions as a little kid tend to stick with us, and perhaps maybe we should think more often about what made us happy growing up. I too had a similar story as Beth, and was inspired to dig a little deeper last year when gearing up to leave my full-time job.

I vividly remember sitting with my Energy Healer Katie, pouring my heart out to her about feeling … Read More!

Even though it’s been rather cold & dreary in New England lately, I’m feeling all things spring. Every year, around this time I tend to go through a major reflection period. I find myself asking more questions, checking in with how I want to FEEL & spending more time with myself. I take a good, hard look at all aspects of my life — from career to finances to home environment — and dig a little deeper.

I’m blossoming.

I’m changing.

I’m growing.

Are you feeling that energy too?

prAna Love: Sustainable Wear for Free Spirits

With that being said, springtime is also the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe! Seeing as though my dresser consists of 90% “athleisure” wear, I was psyched to check out prAna’s new spring collection.

For those of you who haven’t shopped with prAna before, their clothing is absolutely dreamy and I know you’ll fall in love. Whether your thing is yoga or hiking, they’re all about designing clothing for people who “live life fully, play long, and travel well.” Um, hello that’s me! 

While the free spirit in me totally digs their mission, what I appreciate most is prAna’s dedication to sustainability — and … Read More!

Happy Spring, friends! ‘Tis the season for renewal, detoxification and new beginnings. Springtime symbolizes fresh starts, cleansing, and blossoming opportunities & relationships. I absolutely love the longer days, perusing flower shops and bringing back my obsession with iced coffee 😉

Bright, refreshing produce starts to come into season like snap peas, asparagus, artichokes, sprouts and strawberries…and everything simply feels more alive.

And it’s the perfect time to start fresh by taking care of your mind, body & soul!

Join myself & fellow Cerified Health Coach /Yoga Guru Kelley Abatzis for a 14-day Spring Self Care Challenge & finally start putting YOU first. Our signature self-care challenge is back by popular demand, with themes of renewal, detoxification and cleaning out your space.

The program begins Monday, April 17th + includes:

1. Daily morning dose of positivity + clear action steps sent straight to your email (even better than your morning iced mocha!) with feel-good action-steps to implement right away throughout the two weeks.

2. Access to our private ‘Soul Sisters’ Facebook group to hold one another accountable – We’re a firm believer that the main reason we don’t follow through is because we have no one to keep us accountable. P.S. … Read More!

Before & After photos. We all know ’em. They look a little something like: photo of slightly heavier or less “toned” you on the left with current you grinning ear to ear on the right.

Usually said photos involve a woman wearing bra & undies, bikini or workout wear, with a comment below about how far they’ve come since the “old version of themselves.” Some folks post the same picture over & over again throughout the year, while others take part in weekly #TransformationTuesday posts.

And lately, I’ve become so over it.

Don’t get me wrong: I totally value a woman’s progress on their journey to finding their happy weight or falling in love with themselves. What I don’t love is that typically these posts make it all about the body…when in reality it’s so much more than that.

It just doesn’t resonate with me anymore

When I first started my journey to losing weight & falling back in love with myself, I too would create these before & after type photos showcasing my progress and how much happier I am today.

But lately there’s become such an obsession with these images, and I’ve seen firsthand the negative impact they … Read More!

For those of you who have been following along on my journey through my blog or instagram, you’re probably aware of my recent diagnosis of Hashimoto’s Disease & hypothyroidism.

Today on the blog, I wanted to get super personal & share with you the story of my diagnosis, lifestyle/diet changes, and how I was able to get to the root cause of the problem so I can begin my healing journey. It’s my hope that perhaps my story can inspire someone else who may be struggling to take back their health. Kick back, relax & enjoy!

[P.S. You can read Part 2 of my journey here.] 

THE SYMPTOMS – SOMETHING FELT “OFF” 

I first began to notice something wasn’t quite right during the early fall of 2016. My energy levels completely plummeted, to the point where I would sleep 10 hours and still be tired upon waking & throughout the day. I was also super bloated, my face was puffy, and my clothes started to fit differently.

When I hopped on the scale for the first time in months, I was surprised to see I had gained about 8 pounds (and then another 4 shortly thereafter) with no changes … Read More!

Are you a meal-prepper? It’s come to my attention that meal prep Sunday is a new thing lately, you know kind of like Football Sunday but for chicks who cook. I’m not against it or anything, but personally I’m not a fan of meal prepping on Sundays.

I think part of the reason is because in a way it reminds me of my years of dieting, calorie counting and meal planning. I’d dissect every last bite and was so mathematic when it came to my food. It made me stressed, guilty & anxious. I always knew exactly what my next meal would be, when I would eat it, and how many calories I’d be consuming. In fact, it’s all I thought about.

When I quit dieting, I decided I deserved to feel JOY around food. I didn’t want it to feel in any way like it once did in college. I wanted to associate food with family, love and nourishment. I wanted cooking to be fun, sexy and experimental.

Nowadays, I’m super chill around food. I buy the ingredients I love (and that my body loves!) so my fridge is stocked up, then go by how I feel during the … Read More!

Bone broth has become quite the hot topic in the natural food world of late. But despite all the hype, I had yet to try it myself.

“It’s just such a pain to make…I’ll have to buy a whole chicken…make a roast…save the bones…it’s just too hard!” (excuses, excuses!)

MEET FIVE WAY FOODS

Fortunately, Five Way Foods reached out to me, offering to send me a few bottles to try. I was sold. Five Way Foods is an MA-based startup, specializing in locally-sourced broth with delicious flavor. All of their products are gluten and dairy free with no added sugar or chemicals. You can use their broth “5  ways” — as a beverage, in a stir-fry, as part of a sauce, in a soup/stew, or to make risotto. Or you can come up with your own unique way! I especially love that they source from local farms & purveyors like Red’s Best Seafood, Walden Local Meat Co., and Russo’s Market. Knowing where my food is coming from is extremely important to me!

The crew at Five Way Foods ended up sending me a bottle of each of their flavors: Chicken Bone Broth, Fish Bone Broth and Veggie Broth. … Read More!

Ew.

I am seriously so sick & tired of all the magazine articles, advertisements & blogger body shots telling you what your New Year’s resolution should be (and that you need to lose weight). Seriously, you can shut the eff up. Sorry for the bluntness but this kind of stuff gets my blood boiling.

But then again, it’s sort of expected by now. Every year around this time the diet industry, media & leader’s in the health world think it’s a great idea to play on women’s holiday vulnerabilities & body insecurities to make us think that a.) you aren’t good enough b.) you need to lose weight and c.) this year you can really make a change.

THIS IS YOUR YEAR!

IT’S TIME TO FINALLY LOSE THE WEIGHT!

DROP TWO DRESS SIZES!

10 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT & GET FIT IN 2017!

GET YOUR DREAM BODY!

SLIM DOWN IN 7 DAYS!

YOUR TICKET TO A SIX PACK!

Enough is enough.

Why do you assume that the only thing us women care about is how our bodies are perceived by others? Where are the articles boasting ways to love yourself more, re-energize or find a career that brings you joy … Read More!